Per-So-Na! GX: Eleven Stars
by Master of The Wild Card
Summary: The Akasaka twins, Kazuma and Naomi, join Yuki Judai and company in the freshman class of Duel Academia. But if school and social life wasn't enough for the two to juggle, now they have to master the strange power they've both awakened to, and unveil the secrets of the equally as strange nightmare world known as "Qliphoth". Rated M... for MARA!
1. Opening 1

_**{Play "My World" by SPYAIR}**_

_**{Instrumental}**_

= A blue outline of a ticking clock is shown on a black background before it bursts apart into shards, revealing a bird's-eye view of Duel Academia, and the title, "Per-So-Na! GX" appears in glowing blue letters.

**Kabe ni motarete hitobanjuu kangaete mitan da jibun no koto. Eranda yuku saki wa koko de ii no ka? Wakara naku narun da.** **  
**_[ In the dark night, my back's against the wall, I thought about myself the whole night. Was it right for me to walk this path? I don't know anymore. ]_

= The scene changes as Kazuma is shown sitting on the roof of the Ra Yellow Dorm, holding a picture of his family which he looks at sadly. Kazuma closes his eyes as the night sky turns dark green.

**Demo kotae nante denai mama sa.  
**_[ Even so I still don't have the answer. ]_

= The picture Kazuma holds is shown in greater detail, followed by an image of Naomi with a cheerful smile on her face.

**Doko ni itatte hisshi na mono sa.  
**_[ Where things stood differently, ]_

= The main building of the school is shown, along with an image of the GX cast.

**Utsu muita shisen wo sukoshi age. Mieta asa wa sundeta**_**  
**__[ Always facing down, I looked up once in a while and felt the warmth of the morning. ]_

= Kazuma stands up on the roof as a tarot card covered in blue flames descends down into his open palm. Kazuma then crushes the card in his hand and blue flames burst from it.

**Boku ga boku de aru tame ni. Ushinaccha ike nai mono wa nani? Kantan ni de nai kotae wa tsurakute kurushii yo. **_  
[ I am me because I am here... What are the things that I can't afford to lose? It seems I still can't find the answer easily; it's so painful that I can't breathe. ]_

= Kazuma runs into a battle against the Eleven Stars alongside the other Duel Academia students as Gemini unleashes an Zio. Naomi's Gemini then follows up with a Bufu. Kazuma begins summoning other Personas, each one unleashing a different attack.

**_Tatta ichido no miss wo nando mo kuyo kuyo shi naide. Arukeba aiseru kana my world_**  
_[ Don't worry about that one miss shot. As long as I move on, I will come to love it. My world. ]_

= Meanwhile, the other Duelists each activate their Duel Disks and summon their signature Monsters as they all prepare to face down the Eleven Stars.

**Daiji ni shi tai to omou hodo. Doushite hanare teku no darou? "Mou kore ijou wa nai" to ii nagara mata motomeru kedo…  
**_[ Why is it that the more I want to cherish something, the further away it gets from me? "I won't go beyond this," saying that, yet longing for it again… ]_

= The scene shifts once again, showing Kazuma and an image of Gemini and his Shadow Self before shifting to Naomi, also showing an image of her Gemini and her Shadow Self. Both siblings are walking through various locations of Duel Academia. The scene shifts again, showing Kazuma and Naomi with their backs to each other before taking a step forward.

**Katachi no mie nai mono ni namae wo tsukete "yume" ya "ai" to. Yobu koto de sukoshi hoko rashige. Ah hontou wa son nan janai noni…**_  
[ Giving names like "dream" or "love" to those invisible things, and feeling a little proud when calling them by those names. Ah, but actually, that's not what they're about… ]_

= Kazuma is then shown inside the Velvet Room, with Igor sitting across from him alongside a woman clothed in all blue. Kazuma turns his head to the side as he sees a girl with short black hair and grey eyes approaching him.

**Boku ga boku de aru tame ni. Kono kotoba ga mayo waseru. Kantan ni de nai kotae wa tsurakute kurushii yo.  
**_[ I am me because I am here... That sentence makes me confused. It seems I still can't find the answer easily; it's so painful that I can't breathe. ]_

= The scene shifts again as Kazuma duels against an unknown opponent before his Monster is destroyed and he takes a direct attack, sending him tumbling backwards onto the ground. As he rises to one knee, he sees _Evil King Rias _and _Evil Queen Akeno _appear and launch blasts of magical energy at Kazuma's opponent.

_**Semete, mae wo muite yukou mota mota sezu ni. Sagashi mono wa mitsu karu hazu kono world de.**  
[ But at least, I should look up and walk on without dawdling. I'm sure I can find what I'm looking for inside this world. ]_

= Kazuma then sees Issei walk up beside him and look down at him with a cheeky grin. Kazuma closes his eyes and smirks momentarily before standing up as the Issei summons _Keeper of the Red Dragon_.

**Tsutawara nakute nage dashita. Zenbu kowarete shimae ba ii to omotte ita. Demo chigau… Kanashimi sae yasashisa ni kaete ike tara. Sukoshi zutsu dakedo sekai wo suki ni nareru. Dakara…  
**_[ My thoughts couldn't be conveyed, so I flung them aside. I even wished for everything to be destroyed. But that's not it… If even grief can be turned into kindness, slowly but surely, I can start liking this world. So… ]_

= Kazuma stands inside a black void filled with stars as each of the Major Arcanum from Fool to Judgement appear and begin floating in a circle around his form. Kazuma then opens his eyes, which are now glowing azure blue and filled with determination.

**Boku ga boku de aru tame ni… Sore ga nani ka wo saga shite. Kizu tsuki tachi domari tsurakute kurushii yo. Dakedo, ichido kkiri da jibun wo kuyo kuyo semezu ni. Arukeba aiseru sa my world  
**_[ I am me because I am here… Searching for what exactly I need, eliminating all my vulnerabilities. It's so painful that I can't breathe. But I'll only live once, so without brooding and blaming myself, if I can move on, I'd be able to love my world. ]_

= Kazuma is shown dueling against his Shadow Self, who summons various Monsters as his other self begins to glow a deep blue.

= Kazuma then performs a Cross-Spread Fusion, summoning Kohryu. The golden dragon roars and unleashes a strong Ziodyne, causing a small explosion to kick up and destroy Shadow Kazuma's Monsters. Once the dust clears, Kazuma is standing in front of his Shadow Self with his hand extended.

**Hikari wa susumu saki ni aru**_  
[ Because there is light on the road ahead. ]_

= Kazuma is shown falling through a void of nothingness as he reaches skyward towards a distant light. A hand suddenly reaches down and grabs his wrist as everything fades to black.


	2. Turn 1

**Per-So-Na! GX: Eleven Stars**

**Turn 1**

_**Hello everybody!**_

_**Master of the Wild Card here with YET ANOTHER new story. And I promise that this time, this one won't die halfway through.**_

_**Anyways, this is going to be another Yu-Gi-Oh! x Persona crossover, but this time I'm doing GX, and we'll once again be seeing the Persona archetype being used, but it's going to be quite different than the FES variant. And for those of you whom I know will ask, I **__**WILL NOT**__** be doing the original Yu-Gi-Oh!, nor will I be doing ZeXal, for these two reasons:**_

_**1 - The original Yu-Gi-Oh! is way to long for my likings, and it would more than likely eat away at my sanity.  
2 - ZeXal is complete garbage.**_

_**As for ARC-V… I have to wait until the first season is done anyways, so… yeah.**_

_**Anyways… Expect this first chapter to be rather lengthy, as you'll quickly see. Also, for the first duel in this chapter, I'd like to thank The Azure Guardian for helping me out. Though… if you're wondering about the turnout… yeah you can blame me for going a little tryhard at the end.**_

_**And as a note, this is going to be based around the JAPANESE version of GX, mainly because I've come to realize the dubs for Yu-Gi-Oh! are less than tolerable at times (looking at you 4kids). So that means the names for most characters are changed, and there will be bits of Japanese here and there. **_

_**Also, if you want to submit an OC for this story (which I will need a few of), further details will be at the end of the chapter.**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. I only own the Persona archetype, the Digital Devil archetype, and my OC's Akasaka Kazuma, Akasaka Naomi, and Tachibana Mamoru. All other rights go to the respective creators.**_

NOTES:

● Numbers that are [in brackets] indicate that Monster's battle position on the field. Card stats will appear as such:

Card Name  
LV  
Attribute  
Type/Type 2/Type 3 (if any)  
ATK / DEF

● "_**Dialogue spoken in bold and italics indicates dialogue from a Monster spirit or an otherwise otherworldly entity."**_

● '_Dialogue in single quotations in full italics represents a character's thoughts'_

● A word or phrase in _italics_ indicates emphasis on that word or words.

● Words in **bold** indicate a card name.

● '_Any word(s) _not in italics_ within mental dialogue indicates emphasis on that word or words.'_

● Text that is underlined will be a term that can be referenced at the end of a chapter in the 'GX Dictionary'.

● _Text that is underlined and italicized indicates any miscellaneous things that can range from notes of changing Level, ATK and DEF on a Monster(s), to a notification that a BGM will be used in a given scene. BGM's will be referenced by name and artist and/or the game/anime they appear in._

● Any and all card names will be used according to the translations found on the Yu-Gi-Oh! Wikia at the given time.

● I will most likely use very little Japanese aside from honorifics, "My turn" variants, "Turn end", Monster Attributes (though this one is a given anyways), and the occasional word or phrase such as "Nani?" or "Baka!".

● I will not have a decklist like I've done in Yu-Gi-Oh! FES. Instead, whenever a new card makes its' first appearance, I'll have it at the end of the chapter.

* * *

_Domino City…_

_A massive city that has become the home of some of the greatest Duelists in the history of Duel Monsters; Mutou Yugi, the King of Games himself, Katsuya Jounouchi, a Duelist with an incredible amount of luck on his side, and even Kaiba Seto, the CEO of KaibaCorp. The city also houses the KaibaDome, which, right now, is serving to test the applicants of one of the most prestigious Dueling schools ever built; Duel Academia. Two such Duelists were heading to the KaibaDome right now…_

"Aw crap!" exclaimed a young man of eighteen with untidy red hair and azure blue eyes as he looked at his watch and saw that he was on the verge of running late. The young man wore a black jacket over a white collared shirt, black pants, and white sneakers. "Man, if it weren't for that crime scene being set up…"

"Calm down Aniki**(1)**." said a young woman of eighteen that was running behind him. She looked much like the boy, but with long, bright red hair tied into two pigtails. She wore an outfit similar to the young man's, presumably a school uniform. The outfit consisted of a white blouse, black skirt, white stockings and brown loafers. The girl also wore a black jacket around her waist. Her companion slowed down a bit, letting the girl catch up.

"Yeah I know Imouto**(2)**." replied the boy with a sigh. "It's just… I really want to get into Duel Academia, y'know? It'd be a great way for both of us to hone our skills." the girl nodded in understanding. The young man then continued to walk towards the KaibaDome along with his companion.

"Aniki… Can I ask you a question?" The woman asked.

"Nani**(3)**?" The young man replied curiously.

"Does this… have anything to do with Tou-san**(4)** and Kaa-san**(5)**?" She asked. The young man froze in his tracks as that question sank into his mind.

"You know what…? I'm not sure about that myself…" He answered in thought. He shook his head slightly and kept walking. His companion followed behind again, and after a few minutes of picking up speed, the pair had reached the KaibaDome.

"Hello…" The red-haired woman greeted the two girls and suited man that waited outside, while catching her breath. "I'm Examinee Number 4, Akasaka Naomi."

"And Examinee Number 3, Akasaka Kazuma. Are we late?" The man, now identified as Kazuma, added. The suited man was looking through a list when suddenly…

"Hey! Wait up!" yelled a boy with short brown hair that was currently climbing over the wall and pulling himself over the railing. This earned everyone's attention as he dropped down on the other side. "Number 110, Yuki Judai. Am I safe?" Seeing this boy gave Naomi and Kazuma a small hope.

"You all made it just in time." Said the man at the registration desk.

"YES!" Judai said in victory. While it wasn't evident on his face, Kazuma was also relieved. He then went to help up his fellow examinee.

"Thanks for that." Judai said as he stood up with Kazuma's help. "So, you were late too?"

"Yeah, police were setting up an investigation on the path we wanted to take, so we had to detour." Kazuma explained.

"Train problems for me." Judai said. "By the way, the name's Yuki Judai."

"… Akasaka Kazuma." Kazuma returned after a moment. "And that's my sister Naomi over there."

"Uh, Aniki…" Naomi reminded the red-haired boy.

"Oh yeah!" Kazuma realized as he, Judai, and Naomi ran inside the KaibaDome.

* * *

"They're at it! They're at it!" Judai cheered as the three of them saw four Dueling fields set up inside. Looking down at one of the fields, they saw a proctor with a **Big Shield Gardna** and **Gear Golem of Moving Fortress**, both in Defense mode, on his field, while on the opposing side, a student being tested, who wore a Chinese school or martial arts uniform had a **Blood** **Vorse** on his field, along with a facedown Magic/Trap Card.

_**Proctor LP: 1900  
Examinee LP: 3200**_

"No matter how well-capable you may be, in the face of this Super-Defense Deck, you can no longer touch my life Points." The proctor stated.

The examinee pressed a button on his Duel Disk, which revealed his facedown to be a Trap Card depicting a collar with grenades strapped to it. "I activate my Trap Card, **Ring of Destruction**." He announced. "I can destroy a Monster on the field, and then we both take damage equal to its ATK." The proctor gave a surprised look as the collar attached itself to **Blood Vorse's** neck and exploded instantly.

_**Proctor LP: 1900-0  
Examinee: 3200-1300**_

"The Duel is over." The proctor stated, seemingly unfazed by the loss. "You've won."

"Thank you very much, oh wise proctor." The examinee replied with a bow.

'_Not bad.'_ Kazuma thought. _'It's rare to see people sacrifice their own Monsters like that. But this guy managed to get into a good spot for him to win.'_

* * *

"Examinee Number 1, Misawa Daichi, isn't half bad, is he?" A spectator asked.

"It was worth coming out here to see him after hearing the rumors, wasn't it, Manjoume-san**(6)**?" another spectator asked.

"Nonsense, these Duels are just set at a low level." Replied a third spectator, presumably Manjoume, who sat between the other two spectators, with black hair spiked down in front over his face and spiked up in the back. "Coming out here for this was such a waste. Duel Academia doesn't need _two_ kings, only one."

* * *

"Number 1's combo was awesome, huh?" Judai thought aloud.

"Of course it was." A voice spoke up. Judai, Naomi, and Kazuma looked down to see a boy with light blue hair and glasses rested on his nose. Though he didn't look it due to his height, he was likely the same age as the three of them.

"That's Misawa-kun**(7)**, Examinee Number 1, or in other words, first place on the written test." The boy said.

"Oh, so that's what your Examinee Number means, huh?" Judai wondered.

'_Huh. So that's one of the guys that scored higher than me.'_ Kazuma noted to himself. _'I can definitely see why though.'_

"You pass depending on your grades on the written test and the details of your duel." The boy explained. "I managed to win my duel, but since I'm Examinee Number 100, I doubt they'll accept me…"

"Don't sweat it!" Judai said enthusiastically as he lightly slapped the boy on the back. "If you're lucky, you'll pass. I'm Examinee Number 110 after all."

"_You're_ an Examinee too?" the boy asked.

"Sure am." Judai replied.

"But the Duels with the 100's already ended with the first group." The boy said.

"It _what_?!" Judai panicked.

"Wait, what about us? Did our group finish up already?" Naomi asked.

"What are your Numbers?" the boy asked.

"I'm Number 4, and my brother is Number 3." Naomi answered.

"_You're_ Numbers 3 and 4?" the boy exclaimed in surprise. "You guys _just_ missed your duels!"

"You've gotta be kidding!" Naomi exclaimed in disbelief.

"B-but they might be able to fit you guys in since you _did_ make it on time." The boy tried to reassure the twins before turning to Judai. "I'm not sure about you though…"

* * *

"We don't even need to deliberate on Misawa-kun, do we? I think it's settled," one faculty member said to another, concerning the recently concluded Duel.

"Mm-hmm. He's the last one," the other faculty member agreed.

Sitting next to them, another faculty member with blonde hair and dressed in a rather frilly blue uniform, was going through some paperwork when the suited man from outside walked up to him.

"I beg your pardon," the suited man said, earning the attention of the faculty member. "There are three more examinees that made it to registration at the last minute…"

"What did they rank of the written test?" the blonde faculty member asked.

"Examinee Numbers 110, 3 and 4." the suited man answered.

"Fine, I'll have two others prep to test Numbers 3 and 4," the faculty member said. "But Number 110 must have very little sense of readiness if he's arriving _this_ late, no? We have no need for a dropout boy in _our_ academy, now, do we?"

"Even so, he made it, if only _somewhat_, on time, so he _does_ qualify for the exam…" the first faculty member pointed out.

"And a train incident is to blame, anyway…" an older faculty member stated. "I also heard that the police had sectioned off an entire block due to an investigation."

"Wouldn't it be a bad idea to not let him take it?" the second faculty member questioned.

"Non problema-lema! Non! Non! Non!" the blonde faculty member argued until his phone started to ring, to which he pulled it out of his pocket and answered it. "Scusi? With whom am I speaking? Oh, Mr. Principal!"

"I've heard that there are a few examinees that arrived at the last minute due to unfortunate hindrances," said the man on the other end, the supposed principal of Duel Academia, surprising the faculty member that he found out so soon. "Whether or not they did poorly on the written exam, or simply arrived late, you mustn't deprive them of their chance. Our school's aim is to garner a wide range of talents to train them into well-rounded Duelists, after all."

Once the call ended, the faculty member hung up his phone.

"Such sharp ears… You sly old dog…" the faculty member cursed to himself. _'Duel Academia is an academy for the Dueling Elite! Perché?! Why is Principal Samejima backing the dropout boy?'_ He then groaned in defeat. "I will be dueling Examinee Number 110!"

Just as the blonde faculty member was about to leave, one of the other members called out to him. "P-Please wait!" the faculty member then pulled out a suitcase full of various decks. "Professor Chronos, please take an examination deck."

"I have no need for one of those! I shall be using my _own_ deck!" the blonde faculty member, Professor Chronos, declared as he walked off. "But send someone for Examinee Number 3 and 4's exams before I duel Number 110!"

* * *

Up at the bleachers, Misawa Daichi had made his way back from the Duel field and took a seat near the top right in front of the short boy, Judai, Naomi and Kazuma.

"I gotta say, you're one tough customer," Judai said to Misawa.

"I guess," Misawa shrugged.

"You may be the second-strongest out of the examinees this year," Judai said with a cheeky grin.

Kazuma, Naomi, Misawa and the shorter boy turned to Judai with confused looks on their faces.

"Examinee Number 3, Akasaka Kazuma-kun…" a woman's voice called over the PA system.

"Alright. My turn." Kazuma said while standing from his seat.

"So you're an examinee too?" Misawa inquired.

"That's right," Kazuma answered with a nod before pulling his deck out of its holder. Keeping a firm grip on his deck, Kazuma walked down the stairs towards the Duel field.

* * *

Down at the Duel field, Kazuma was raised up as he put down his school bag and produced a blue-and-black-colored Duel Disk from it. Roman numerals ranging from zero to twenty-one were etched into the device in white print around the central portion of the Duel Disk, as well as the edge of the board that housed the card zones.

"Good luck, Aniki!" Naomi cheered from her place in the bleachers.

Kazuma turned to his sister and nodded before he put the custom Duel Disk on his arm and shuffled his deck before sliding it into the machine, causing it to activate.

Just as Kazuma finished his preparations, his opponent had just entered the field.

"Examinee Number 3, Akasaka Kazuma… I will be your opponent for this exam," the proctor introduced himself. "If you cannot prove yourself against me, you will not be allowed into Duel Academia this year."

"Then I'll give it everything I've got," Kazuma responded.

"That's what I like to hear," the proctor said with a grin.

"Duel!" the two called out as they drew their initial five cards.

_**Proctor LP: 4000  
Kazuma LP: 4000**_

"Since you're the one being tested, you can go first." The proctor stated.

"Alright then. Boku no tan**(8)**!" Kazuma said as he began his turn. "Since I control no Monsters, I'm allowed to Summon **Fool Persona - Ose** without a release!" As Kazuma played his Monster, an anthropomorphic cheetah wearing a green cape, wearing white gloves and boots, and carrying a saber appeared and took an offensive stance, indicating it was played in Attack mode.

**Fool Persona - Ose  
LV 5  
Chi  
Beast-Warrior/Effect  
ATK [1800] / DEF 2100**

"Strange, I've never heard of that card." The proctor remarked in interest.

"I'm not surprised. Nobody's seen these cards." Kazuma replied.

* * *

"**Persona**?" asked a girl with blonde hair and wearing a school uniform of a white top and blue skirt from her place in the stands. "Ryo, do you know anything about those cards?"

A young man with dark blue hair, presumably Ryo, simply stared down at the field in thought. He wore a school uniform as well, which simply consisted of a white and blue blazer. Finally, he answered. "They're a special archetype created a few years back by a two people who worked for Industrial Illusions. They revolve around Fusion Summoning."

"Well then how do you explain how _he_ has them?" asked a third voice.

"Mamoru-kun? You've heard of them too?" the woman asked. Another young man, now identified as Mamoru, with short silver hair and blue eyes stepped forward next to his two friends.

"I only know about as much as Ryo does." Mamoru replied.

"What about these cards is so interesting?" the woman asked.

"You'll just have to wait and see, Asuka-san." Mamoru said as he continued to watch the duel.

* * *

"**Persona**?" the short boy repeated.

"That Monster looks so sweet! It's like something straight out of fiction!" Judai exclaimed excitedly.

"I must admit, it _does_ seem like something that Lovecraft would think up." Misawa added.

* * *

"I'll set two cards facedown. Tan endo**(9)**." Kazuma concluded.

"Very well. Watashi no tan**(10)**!" the proctor said as he drew his sixth card. "I'll play the Field Magic, **Fault Line**, and set one Monster facedown." As the proctor played his cards, the area around them changed to a rocky landscape with a large canyon to the side, and a reversed card appeared in the Monster Zone. "That's all for me. Tan endo."

"Boku no tan!" Kazuma said as he drew. "I summon **Fool Persona - Obariyon** in Attack mode!" The next Monster to appear was a small red-skinned demon with dark hair in a bowl-cut style.

**Fool Persona - Obariyon  
LV 2  
Chi  
Demon/Union  
ATK [300] / DEF 700**

"And now I'll use his effect to equip him to **Ose**!" Kazuma declared as the small demon jumped onto **Ose's** back and stuck there. The Beast-Warrior **Persona** didn't seem to notice, let alone care.

_[ Fool Persona - Ose: ATK 1800-2300 ]_

"By equipping **Obariyon** to a **Persona** Monster, that Monster gains 500 ATK." Kazuma stated as **Ose's** power rose. "Now I'll attack your Monster with **Ose**!" The beast-like Persona ran forward and slashed at the facedown Monster.

The proctor braced himself as his reversed Monster materialized onto the field, revealing an Easter Island Head before it was destroyed by the attack.

**Moai Interceptor Cannons  
LV 4  
Chi  
Rock/Effect  
ATK 1100 / DEF [2000]**

"Good thing I used **Obariyon**." Kazuma noted to himself. "I'll now activate the Magic Card, **Persona Skill - Earth's Anger** from my hand. Since I control a Chi-Attribute Monster, such as **Ose**, you receive 800 damage!" a nearby explosion of rocks caused the proctor to instinctively shield his face from the debris.

_**Proctor LP: 4000-3200  
Kazuma LP: 4000**_

"That's my turn." Kazuma concluded.

"Didn't you say they revolved around Fusion Summoning?" The blonde woman, Asuka, directed at Ryo, who simply watched the Duel intently.

"Watashi no tan!" the proctor called out as he drew his next card. "I set one Monster in Defense mode! Tan endo!" Another face-down card appeared in front of the proctor.

"Boku no tan!" Kazuma said as he drew two cards instead of one. "**Obariyon's** Union Effect lets me draw two cards instead of one during my Draw Phase." Kazuma clarified. The proctor nodded.

'_Hm… looks like I'll need to take the chance. I won't get anywhere unless I break past his defense…'_ Kazuma then took a single card from his hand and played it. "I activate the Magic Card, **Persona Fusion - Triangle Spread**!" The proctor looked on in interest. "With this card, I'm allowed to Fusion Summon a Fusion Monster by using three Persona Monsters from my hand, Deck, or Extra Deck as the Fusion Material!"

"What the-?!" the proctor gasped in surprise.

"I use these three Monsters from my Deck! **Tower Persona - Cu Chulainn**, **Tower Persona - Bishamonten**, and **Tower Persona - Masakado**!" Kazuma continued.

The red-haired boy took the three Monster cards from his Deck and placed them in his Cemetery, causing three warriors, each clad in one type of battle attire or another and wielding swords, to appear and fly into the air as an arcane circle appeared. The three warriors turned into gold-bordered cards that floated in a triangle formation in front of the circle. Suddenly, the three cards rushed towards a central point and collided with each other, creating a flash of bluish light.

"_Chi You tsukure_**(11)**_! Sankakkei no Yugo_**(12)**_!"_ Kazuma called with his hand raised skyward.

Appearing from the light was a green-skinned man clad in some sort of Chinese battle attire with eight arms, each one wielding an offensive or defensive weapon of some sort.

**Tower Persona - Chi You  
LV 8  
Chi  
Warrior/Fusion/Effect  
ATK [2500] / DEF 1900**

* * *

"Whoa! He uses Fusion Monsters like me!" Judai said as he watched the Duel. "And the way he does it is so cool!"

"His method of Fusion seems odd though." Misawa remarked.

"What do you mean?" the short boy asked.

"To be able to take Monsters directly from the Deck or Extra Deck to use them for a Fusion Summon… It's actually quite interesting." Misawa replied. "It's a way of dueling that challenges logic."

* * *

"What the-?!" Asuka asked in shock.

"That's what makes the **Personas** so special. They have their own special cards that enable Fusion from within the Deck and Extra Deck." Ryo replied.

"And if I'm right, that's not even close to the full potential of those cards." Mamoru added.

"You serious…?" Asuka wondered.

* * *

"Now **Chi You**, attack his Monster!" Kazuma ordered. "**Vorpal Blade**!" **Chi You's** weapons glowed as he swung them through the air, causing a storm of slashes to materialize. "And when **Chi You** attacks a Monster in Defense mode, he can deal Piercing Damage!"

The Monster that appeared from the destroyed card, with a cry of pain, was **Giant Rat**.

**Giant Rat  
LV 4  
Chi  
Beast/Effect  
ATK 1400 / DEF [1450]**

_**Proctor LP: 3200-2150  
Kazuma LP: 4000**_

"**Giant Rat's** Monster Effect!" the proctor countered as soon as his Monster was destroyed. "When destroyed by battle and sent to the Cemetery, I can Special Summon a Chi Monster with 1500 ATK or less from my deck in Attack mode! And I choose a second **Giant Rat**!"

Appearing on the field was, obviously enough, another large rat, this time in Attack mode.

"Right. Well then, **Ose**, attack the **Giant Rat**!" Kazuma ordered. The anthropomorphic cheetah dashed forward, readying his sword in the process. The rat was defenseless as it was quickly cut down and destroyed.

_**Proctor LP: 2150-1250  
Kazuma LP: 4000**_

"I activate **Giant Rat's** Monster Effect again and summon my last in Attack mode!" the proctor announced as a third large rat appeared on the field.

"**Ose's** Monster Effect allows him to attack twice during the Battle Phase!" Kazuma added as **Ose** dashed forward again. Once again the rat was destroyed in the attack.

_**Proctor LP: 1250-350  
Kazuma LP: 4000**_

"This guy is pretty good." Asuka said as she watched Kazuma's Duel unfold. "He hasn't taken a single bit of damage, and he's knocked a proctor from the academy down to only 350 Life Points in less than a few turns."

"Don't think he's got it won yet, Asuka-san." Mamoru spoke up. "While he _does_ clearly have skill, that proctor _must_ have had a reason to have summoned those **Giant Rats**, and put his Life Points at such high risk."

The proctor then smirked as he saw his third **Giant Rat** slain. "I activate the Monster Effect of my final **Giant Rat** to Special Summon **Criosphinx**!" Appearing next on the proctor's field was a fairly large hybrid creature with the lower body of a lion, the torso of a human and a head resembling a goat.

**Criosphinx  
LV 6  
Chi  
Rock/Effect  
ATK 1200 / DEF 2400**

"Hmm… I'll set one card facedown. Tan endo." Kazuma concluded.

"Watashi no tan!" the proctor called with a knowing smirk. "I release my **Criosphinx**..." In response, the creature disappeared in a vortex of sand as a sudden sandstorm swept across the field.

"To Special Summon **Guardian God Exode** in Attack mode!" the proctor called out as he played his next card. The sandstorm slowly died down to reveal a gigantic Monster resembling **Sealed** **Exodia** with a body of pure gold standing behind the proctor.

**Guardian God Exode  
LV 8  
Chi  
Rock/Effect  
ATK [0] / DEF 4000**

"N-Nani?!" Kazuma gasped, and involuntarily took a step back.

"Next, from my hand, I activate the Magic Card, **Shield in the Right Hand, Sword in the Left Hand**!" the proctor continued as he played his next card. "This will swap the ATK and DEF of our Monsters until the end of the turn!" In response to the Magic Card being played, **Exode** slowly readied its fists for battle.

"Oh boy…" Kazuma muttered.

_[ Guardian God Exode - ATK 0-4000 / DEF 4000-0 ]_  
_[ Tower Persona - Chi You - ATK 2500-1900 / DEF 1900-2500 ]_  
_[ Fool Persona - Ose - ATK 2300-2100 / DEF 2100-2300 ]_

"**Exode**, attack his **Tower Persona**!" the proctor commanded. "**Exode Quake**!" **Exode** obeyed by slowly lifting both arms above its head and then quickly bringing them back down to the field, creating an earthquake that split the holographic field and swallowed **Chi You**.

"Reversed card open!" Kazuma quickly countered. "**Persona Skill - Counter**! When a **Persona** would come under attack, I can activate this to negate the attack and destroy the Monster that attacked!"

"I activate an Instant Magic from my hand!" the proctor countered as he held out a card. "**Book of Moon**! This will change one face-up Monster to face-down Defense mode! And I select my **Exode**!" As soon as the proctor pushed the card into his Cemetery, **Exode** disappeared from the field and was replaced by a reversed card, rendering him an unavailable target to Kazuma's Trap.

"Damn…" Kazuma cursed under his breath as his Trap shattered into pixels.

"Tan endo," the proctor concluded, unable to do more for the turn. "And at the End Phase, the effects of **Shield in the Right Hand, Sword in the Left Hand** wear off."

_[ Guardian God Exode - ATK 4000-0 / DEF 0-4000 ]_  
_[ Tower Persona - Chi You - ATK 1900-2500/ DEF 2500-1900 ]_  
_[ Fool Persona - Ose - ATK 2100-2300/ DEF 2300-2100 ]_

"Boku no tan!" Kazuma said as he began his turn. He looked over his options carefully, but sighed when he saw there was nothing he could do at the moment. "I set one card facedown. Tan endo." A new card appeared in Kazuma's magic/Trap Zone.

"Watashi no tan!" the proctor called out as he drew his next card. "I set one Monster face-down! Tan endo!" Another reversed card appeared next to the face-down **Exode**.

'_What is he planning…?'_ Kazuma wondered. _'Either way, that __**Exode**__ of his will be trouble if I don't get it off the field… I don't like doing this often, but I might have to bet everything on one of _them_.!'_

_{BGM - Reach Out To The Truth, from Persona 4}_

"Boku no tan!" Kazuma drew, then immediately smirked. _'Bingo!'_ "Since you won't go on the offensive, I will! I activate a Magic Card! **Persona Fusion - Line Spread**! By using two Monsters from my hand, Deck, or Extra Deck as Fusion Materials, I can Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck!"

'_Let's hope this works.'_ Kazuma thought. "I fuse **Tower Persona - Shiva** from my Extra Deck and **Priestess Persona - Parvati** from my Main Deck!" Two figures, both seemingly of Hindu origin, appeared and underwent the same fusion process as before.

"_Ardha tsukure! Rain no Yugo_**(13)**_!"_ Kazuma called out. Out of the resulting light came a figure with long black hair that was rather peculiar in appearance. One half of it was male with blue skin, while the other half was female with reddish-orange skin, with the female side having a single breast covered up by red cloth. The figure itself also wore Hindu clothing in a mix of colors. In its' hands, the figure carried a small spear-like weapon and a red flower of some sort.

**Judgement Persona - Ardha  
LV 10  
Hikari  
Warrior/Fusion/Effect  
ATK [3400] / DEF 2500**

"**Ardha's** Monster effect!" Kazuma declared. "I can choose between two effects to apply, and I apply his second effect! With it, I can destroy any Monster **Ardha** attacks instantly! The downside is that my opponent doesn't take damage from that attack."

"What?!" the proctor gasped in shock before turning his attention towards his face-down **Exode**.

"That's right! Now **Ardha**, attack his set **Exode**! **Primal Force**!" Kazuma ordered, to which **Ardha** complied. He thrust the small spear he carried forward as the weapon gathered white energy at the tip. The spear pierced **Exode** and immediately destroyed it.

'_Alright, time to deal the final blow!'_ Kazuma thought. "**Ose**, attack his other facedown!" The cheetah dashed forward once more, slashing at the card until it revealed a **Stone Statue of the Aztecs** before it shattered.

"**Ose's** Monster Effect lets him attack twice!" Kazuma reminded the surprised proctor. "**Ose**, finish him off with **Gale Slash**!" The cheetah's blade began to glow green as he slashed it through the air, causing the wind to pick up and green slashes to appear in the air in a wild frenzy. The proctor instinctively shielded his face as his Life Points were depleted.

_**Proctor LP: 350-0  
Kazuma LP: 4000 (winner)**_

"The Duel is over." The proctor stated. "Congratulations. You've won."

"Thank you very much." Kazuma replied with a bow.

* * *

"Incredible… He won without taking any damage at all." Asuka said with a hint of surprise in her voice.

"It might've just been luck." Ryo stated. "If the proctor hadn't put his Life Points at risk by summoning those **Giant Rats**, Number 3 might not have done as well as he did.

* * *

Once Kazuma made his way back to the bleachers, Naomi was the first one to congratulate him, "That was great Aniki!"

"Thanks," Kazuma said.

"Those cards of yours are quite powerful." Misawa added. "If you don't mind my asking, where did you get them?"

"Well…"

"Examinee Number 4, Akasaka Naomi-kun…" Kazuma was interrupted by the PA.

"Oh. Looks like it's your turn, Imouto." Kazuma said as he heard the announcment. "Go show them what the Akasaka twins can really do."

"Don't worry, I will." Naomi smiled before she made her way down to the Duel field.

As Kazuma sat down, he suddenly felt unusually tired.

"Hey, Number 3, you alright?" Misawa asked, noticing Kazuma's sudden change in condition. However, Kazuma didn't get a chance to answer as he found himself losing consciousness.

* * *

Kazuma opened his eyes to find himself standing in what appeared to be a small Japanese-style classroom. The thing that stood out was that the entirety of the room was made of, or at least covered by, what Kazuma thought to be dark blue velvet. Kazuma could also hear a soft, slow aria playing in the back ground, but he couldn't clearly discern where it was coming from.

On the side of the room he was facing there was a single desk meant for a student. And across from that, there was a standard teachers' desk. Behind the desk sat a man in a suit who looked to be quite old, with silvery white hair, bulging bloodshot eyes, and a very much noticeable bald spot. The man also had one of the longest noses Kazuma had ever seen on anyone, and he was sitting with his gloved hands folded under said nose.

"Welcome….to the Velvet Room." The man said as he looked straight at Kazuma. "Please, have a seat." The man gestured to the desk in front of Kazuma and he simply sat without a word, unsure of what else to do or what was going on.

"Uh, where am I?" Kazuma asked.

"As I said, this is the Velvet Room. This place exists between dream and reality, between mind and matter, light… and darkness. It is a room where only those with a "contract" may enter." Kazuma simply sat there, still trying to process everything. "You may be awake here, yet you are sound asleep in your own world." The man explained. "My name is Igor; it is a pleasure to meet you. And this is my assistant, Samantha."

For the first time, Kazuma noticed the slender young woman standing next to Igor. The woman was no more than five or six years older than him. She wore a blue business suit as well as a pair of blue heels. She had long platinum blond hair that was tied into a French braid that went down to her mid-back. She also had kind eyes that were a bright shade of yellow.

"Pleased to meet you." Samantha said in a kindly manner.

"Now, what would your name be, my boy?" Igor continued.

"M-My name's Akasaka Kazuma." Kazuma introduced himself, still trying to process whether this was all a dream or not.

"Well, I hope we will see more of you in the days to come." Samantha replied. Just then, Igor produced a deck of tarot cards and spread some across the table. A single card was surrounded by six others.

"Do you believe in fortune-telling?" Igor asked. "Each reading is done with the same cards, yet the result is always different."

Igor flipped over one of the cards, revealing a picture of a tower being struck by a bolt of lightning.

"Hm… The Tower in the upright position represents the immediate future. It appears a terrible catastrophe is imminent. The card indicating the future beyond that is…" Igor flipped over another card, revealing a picture of a moon. "… The Moon, in the upright position. This card represents "hesitation", but also "mystery"."

"So… what does that mean?" Kazuma wondered aloud.

"It seems you will encounter a misfortune at your destination, and a great mystery will be imposed upon you." Igor explained. "Let us look further into the future, shall we?"

Igor flipped another card over, revealing a pair of hands holding a flame in between them. Above that is a pair of eyes, and above that was the symbol for infinity. "The Magician, in the upright position. This card symbolizes action, and one harnessing their talents. It seems you will have to do the same once you reach your destination in order to get past this misfortune. The card for the future beyond that is…" As Igor flipped the fourth card over, he softly gasped upon seeing that the card was blank. "I see…"

"Huh?" kazuma wondered.

"It seems… that your destiny is quite different from previous guests." Igor remarked with a hint of interest and worry in his voice. "This may serve to be rather interesting… and also troubling…"

"What does… that mean exactly?" Kazuma asked in puzzlement, trying to decipher the long-nosed man's cryptic words.

"All in due time my boy, all in due time." Igor replied. "Well, I shan't keep you any longer; time marches on in your world. I will call you back here within the next few days, but for now I bid you farewell…" Igor, Samantha, and the Velvet room all quickly vanished in a burst of white light and Kazuma could feel himself falling asleep once more.

* * *

Kazuma slowly opened his eyes to find that Misawa and the shorter boy were looking down at him with worry.

"Hey, are you alright?" the short boy asked. "You suddenly passed out once you sat down." Kazuma blinked as everything began to register in his head.

'_Was… that really some sort of dream?'_ Kazuma wondered to himself. _'Maybe… it's best not to tell them about it for now.'_ "Yeah… I'm fine. Must have been more tired than I thought. I, uh… didn't get that much sleep last night."

"I see." Misawa said before looking towards the Duel field. "You woke up just in time actually. Your sister is about to win her Duel." Kazuma looked towards the field and saw that Naomi was in fact in a good situation to win. On her field, Kazuma saw three Monsters he easily recognized. One was a young man with short silver hair and a crown-shaped tattoo on his cheek. The second was another young man with slightly longer red hair, and the third was a young woman with long pink hair mostly tied into two buns. All three of them wore grey and orange-colored outfits similar to a military uniform.

"**Digital Devil - Serph the Embryon's** Monster Effect!" Naomi declared. "If I control two other **Digital Devil** Monsters with different names, I can destroy up to 2 Magic or Trap Cards my opponent controls!" On cue, the proctor's remaining facedown shattered into pixels, leaving them wide open. "**Serph**, attack him directly!" Upon command, **Serph** raised his handgun and aimed it at the proctor before firing. The proctor shielded himself against the holographic bullet as his Life Points depleted.

_**Naomi LP: 1500 (winner)  
Proctor LP: 900-0**_

"The Duel is over." The proctor stated. "Congratulations. You've won."

"Thank you very much." Naomi replied with a bow before making her way back to the bleachers. Kazuma met her on the stairs.

"Looks like we did it." Kazuma said, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.

"Akasaka Kazuma, is that a _smile_ I see on your face?" Naomi asked almost teasingly, knowing that her brother almost never smiled. Kazuma chuckled a bit.

"I guess so." He replied.

"Examinee Number 110, Yuki Judai-kun…" The PA announced.

"All right! Looks like I get a shot after all!" Judai cheered before turning his attention back to Kazuma for a moment. "You and Misawa might just be tied for second-strongest."

"Hey, you," Misawa said, catching Judai's attention as the brunette young man was making his way down the stairs to the field. "Why are Kazuma-kun and I tied for Number 2?"

"Because _I'm_ Number 1," Judai declared while pointing to himself with his thumb before continuing down the stairs.

"He only scored _nine_ higher than me on the written exam, so why is he so confident?" the shorter boy wondered.

"I guess that's what we're about to find out, now isn't it," Kazuma said before glancing down at the shorter boy. "By the way, what's your name?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm Sho," the boy introduced himself. "Marufuji Sho."

"Akasaka Kazuma," Kazuma officially greeted.

"And I'm Akasaka Naomi, his sister." Naomi added with a polite bow, addressing Sho.

* * *

Down at the Duel field, Judai was being lifted up as Chronos was being outfitted with his personal Duel Disk.

"Buon giorno!" Chronos greeted the examinee.

"Yuki Judai, sir!" Judai introduced himself as he stood at attention.

"Signor Judai, I am Chronos de Medici, the academy's acting Chief General Director of Practical Application," Chronos returned the introduction.

"What an honor! To think that the Director of Practical Application challenged me!" Judai said, getting excited as he rubbed the back of his head. "I bet that means you're expecting a lot out of me!"

'I've been struck speechless…' the faculty member though as he sweatdropped while Judai laughed.

* * *

"Professor Chronos is dealing with this _personally_?" questioned one of the students sitting next to Manjoume.

"Is that Judai dude that big a deal?" wondered the other student sitting to Manjoume's other side.

_'That can't be it!'_ Manjoume shouted in his head.

* * *

"First Examinee Number 3 with the **Persona** cards and now Chronos is taking on Number 110…" Mamoru quietly mused. "There might be something interesting about these late entries…"

"Duel Coat, on!" Chronos called out as he waved his hand over the chest part of his personal Duel Disk.

"That thing's so awesome!" Judai couldn't help but get excited as his opponent repositioned his Duel Coat's tray and drew his starting five cards. "Sensei**(15)**, can I buy one of those coats, too?"

"All of the high-achieving students have one," Chronos explained. _'Not that it would concern a dropout boy like you. It _never_ will…'_

"All right, I'll do my best!" Judai said, getting even more pumped up.

"Duel!" the two shouted as Judai drew his initial five cards.

_**Judai LP: 4000  
Chronos LP: 4000**_

"Ore no tan**(14)**!" Judai said as he drew his sixth card and looked over his hand. "All right. I'll summon **Elemental HERO Featherman** in Defense mode!"

As Judai played his card, a man with most of his body covered in green feathers, a pair of large wings and a claw weapon on his left arm appeared on the field.

**Elemental HERO Featherman  
LV 3  
Kaze  
Warrior  
ATK 1000 / DEF 1000**

"Next, I'll set a card on the field," Judai continued as he slid a card into his Duel Disk, causing a reversed card to appear behind his Monster. "My turn's finished!"

* * *

"He has **Elemental HERO** cards?" Kazuma mused while watching the duel. "I definitely want to duel him someday."

"Why's that, Aniki?" Naomi asked.

"The **Elemental HERO** cards are a lot like my **Personas**. They rely on Fusion, but it's obviously more _traditional_ than the **Personas**." Kazuma explained.

"**Persona** vs. **Elemental HERO**… That would certainly make for an interesting match," Misawa noted. "Both decks are built around Fusion, and from what little I've seen of this **Persona** archetype, diversity, so seeing those two decks face each other would be worth watching at least once."

* * *

"Watashi no tān," Chronos said calmly as his sixth card slide out of the slot when he moved his hand in front of it, then checked his available hand. _'A __**HERO**__ Deck, is it? I suppose one could say that he was some kind of small-town hero, then.'_ "Allow me to teach you how broad the world is! From my hand, I activate the Magic Card, **Confiscation**!"

"What? **Confiscation**?" Judai repeated, wondering why his opponent had such a powerful card for an examination duel.

"I pay 1000 points from my Life so I may see my opponent's hand…" Chronos explained while the remaining cards in Judai's hand started to glow. "…choose one card from it, and discard it to the Cemetery." As Chronos finished the explanation of how his card worked, holographic versions of Judai's cards appeared in front of him. "Sure enough, the deck of a dropout boy, I see."

_**Judai LP: 4000  
Chronos LP: 4000-3000**_

_'Is he taunting the deck I put my life into?'_ Judai mentally questioned as he glared a bit at his opponent.

"I'll send **Resurrection of the Dead** to the Cemetery!" Chronos declared, to which the holographic card turned around to face Judai before shattering to pixels, to which Judai pushed the card into his Cemetery slot. "Then, I'll place two cards face-down on the field." Chronos continued as two reversed cards appeared in front of him. "Next, I activate the Magic Card, **Heavy Storm**, from my hand! This card destroys all Magic and Trap cards on the entire field!"

As Chronos played his card, a powerful gust of wind swept across the field, destroying all three reversed cards while briefly revealing Judai's card to have been **Drain Shield**.

Though Judai couldn't help but point out his opponents' blunder, "But, sensei**(15)**, you got your cards mixed into it, too!"

"This is what they call 'being a frog in a well'. Ribbit, ribbit!" Chronos taunted once the wind had died down only for the field to be enveloped in dark mist.

"What the…" Judai said, wondering what could have triggered the mist.

"I Special Summon the **Evil God Tokens**!" Chronos announced as a pair of gold, snake-like creatures rose up from the mist.

**Evil God Token** (x2)**  
LV 4  
Yami  
Demon/Token  
ATK 1000 / DEF 1000**

Most of the spectators were in awe at Chronos' move.

* * *

"I'm so lost on what happened…" Sho said.

"**Golden Wicked Idol** is a special Trap that creates a Token when destroyed," Kazuma explained. "Professor Chronos destroyed his own **Golden Idols** to utilize their effect."

"And since the Tokens are as strong as **Featherman**, the fact Professor Chronos has two of them means he's planning to summon something powerful," Misawa noted.

* * *

"That's no entry exam deck!" one of Manjoume's "lackeys" realized. "It's Professor Chronos's own Dark Ages Deck!"

"He's got his combo going and quartered off Number 110's Trap at the same time!" Manjoume's other "lackey" noted.

"For there to be an examinee that can beat that deck…" the first "lackey" trailed off.

"…is wishful thinking, right?" the second "lackey" finished.

Manjoume just scoffed, "I thought that examinee was something special, but I was sorely mistaken. Professor Chronos plans to give that dropout boy's fleeting dream a very-thorough stomping on."

* * *

"I feel sorry for him. It seems as if Chronos doesn't fancy him," Asuka said as she and her two companions continued to watch the last exam duel.

"This is quite a sight," said Ryo, earning the young woman's attention. "The Dark Ages Deck… Thanks to Number 110 here, we might have the honor of seeing its legendary rare card."

* * *

"My turn is not over as of yet!" Chronos announced, to which Judai chuckled in amusement.

"Sounds fun! What're you showing me this time, sensei?" Judai asked eagerly.

"Next, I release my two **Evil God Tokens**…" Chronos said casually as his two creatures burst into flames and vanished. "…to Advance Summon **Antique Gear Golem**!"

* * *

"Isn't this…" Asuka gasped with her eyes widened as Chronos played his card, causing a gigantic mechanical creature to slowly rise up from the ground. "His legendary rare card!"

* * *

"Awesome! The rumors filled me in on that thing!" Judai said, eager to face his opponent's best Monster.

**Antique Gear Golem  
LV 8  
Chi  
Machine/Effect  
ATK 3000 / DEF 3000**

* * *

"A Level 8 Monster just out of the blue like that?!" Sho said in surprise.

"The legendary **Antique Gear Golem**… This might not go well for Judai," Kazuma said, interested in how his fellow examinee would handle the situation.

* * *

"Chronos de Medici has yet to lose once he's summoned this card," Ryo stated. "I wouldn't have pegged that examinee to have the power to make the Professor take this seriously."

"Professor Chronos is pretty fickle, you know," Asuka pointed out before letting out a sigh. "It's a shame. I just heard the iron doors of the Academia closing shut."

"Don't count him out yet," Mamoru told his companions, earning their attention. "He may have a chance to turn this duel around." The young man then turned his eyes towards his male companion. "You know this just as well as anyone… Kaiser."

The dark-haired young man merely shot a glance at Mamoru before he and their female companion returned their attention back to the duel.

* * *

Chronos laughed victoriously, "Here I go! **Ultimate Pound**!"

The gears in the **Golem's** body began to turn as the creature's eye lit up and it slowly pulled its right arm back before throwing it forward at Judai's defending Monster, destroying it on contact.

* * *

"**Antique Gear Golem's** ATK is 3000, and **Featherman's** DEF is 1000! It didn't stand a chance!" Sho said as he shook his head.

"And that's not the half of it," Misawa said, earning Sho's and Kazuma's attention. "When that Monster attacks a Monster in Defense mode, and its ATK exceeds its DEF, its effect deals the difference as battle damage to the opponent."

"And when that Monster attacks, the opposing player can't activate any set Magic or Trap cards until after the damage is dealt," Kazuma added.

"N-No way… That Monster breaks the rules, doesn't it?!" Sho complained as an illusion of the **Gear Golem's** fist went right through Judai.

_**Judai LP: 4000-2000  
Chronos LP: 3000**_

* * *

Chronos continued to laugh as Judai's Life Points fell, "Already lost your fighting spirit, have you?"

However, now it was Judai who was laughing as he raised his head with a smile on his face, "I'm really touched that the General Directing Professor is dueling his hardest against me!"

_'What?! Just how mistaken is he? I never intended to let some dropout boy like you through the gates of the prestigious Duel Academia!'_ Chronos yelled in his head as he glared at Judai.

'_This is where my true power will get put to the test!'_ Judai thought to himself as he was about to draw his next card, until…

_**"Kuri kuri kuri!"**_

_'Who's that calling me?'_ Judai mentally asked as he pulled the next card from his deck and looked at it. _'It's you from earlier… It couldn't be…'_

* * *

_**[Flashback]**_

_Before Judai arrived for his exam, he had accidentally bumped into someone and dropped his cards. After picking them up though…_

_"This is a lucky card. Do your best," the person he had bumped into said while holding out a card._

_**[Flashback End]**_

* * *

The wings on the creature's card began to glow as Judai read its name in his head, _'I see, then. You're __**Winged Kuriboh**__?'_ Judai then looked over the rest of the card to see what it could do, but then thought he was imagining things when he saw the creature on the card wink at him. _'All right, I'll believe in you!'_ "From my hand, I summon **Winged Kuriboh** in Defense mode!"

As Judai played the card, the creature that appeared was a ball of fur with big yellow eyes, green hands and feet with claws, and a pair of white wings.

**Winged Kuriboh  
LV 1  
Hikari  
Angel/Effect  
ATK 300 / DEF 200**

"Next, I set a card face-down to end my turn!" Judai concluded as a reversed card appeared behind his small Monster.

Chronos just laughed at Judai's attempt at a defense, "A feathered **Kuriboh**… You have quite the rare card there, no? However, it is just a low-level Monster, is it not? You may have played it in Defense mode, but it will not stave off **Antique Gear Golem's** piercing effect! I suppose a runt of a Monster does befit a runt!" Chronos mocked his opponent. "My turn, is it not?" The Professor moved his hand over his deck, letting it slide the next card into his hand. "This is the end. Now, **Antique Gear Golem**, use your **Ultimate Pound** on **Winged Kuriboh**!"

The giant Monster once more pulled its arm back before throwing it at Judai's new Monster, destroying it instantly.

_'Sorry, __**Winged Kuriboh**__…'_ Judai mentally apologized to his Monster.

"Why isn't your Life decreasing?" Chronos asked from confusion.

"On the turn **Winged Kuriboh's** destroyed, any damage I'd take becomes zero," Judai explained, shocking his opponent.

* * *

"To think there's a card Chronos doesn't know about…" Asuka said, seemingly intrigued by what happened.

"There are some places that even the Professor cannot reach," Ryo said. "The Dueling World is boundless."

"That's what makes it surprising," Mamoru pointed out. "New skills, techniques and combinations appear every day that change the way we duel."

* * *

"That was your runt of a Monster's special ability, was it?" Chronos mocked as Judai slid **Winged Kuriboh** into the Cemetery.

"You'll pay for calling a friend who put his life on the line to protect me a 'runt'!" Judai warned.

"Such a smart-alec!" Chronos continued. "Is there a problem with me calling your throw-away Monster a 'runt'?"

"There is. **Winged Kuriboh's** shriek is the signal that'll call the Monsters in my deck out into action!" Judai explained. "I activate my Trap card! **Hero Signal**!"

As Judai's card rose up, it shot a beam of energy at the ceiling, revealing a red H once the light faded.

"This Special Summons, from my deck, my second **Elemental HERO**, **Burstlady**!" Judai announced as he pulled the card from his deck and played it, summoning a woman with ash-colored skin and a red, flame-designed suit with a gold helmet and long black hair with ash-colored tips.

**Elemental HERO Burstlady  
LV 3  
Hono  
Warrior  
ATK 1200 / DEF 800**

"Ore no tan!" Judai called out as he drew his next card and looked at it. "**Winged Kuriboh**, I've got a nice, tight grip on all of your cheering. Just watch me!" Judai then looked through the other two cards in his hand. "Then, **Featherman's** using his firm fighting spirit to come right back! Thanks to the **Safe Return of the Warrior** Magic Card, I bring him back from the Cemetery to my hand, and Summon him!"

Judai slid the Magic card into his Cemetery slot and grabbed the Featherman card that slid out, and then played it to bring the feathered HERO back to the field.

**Elemental HERO Featherman  
LV 3  
Kaze  
Warrior  
ATK 1000 / DEF 1000**

"Hmph. What good will your fragile little comic book heroes do you?" Chronos questioned. "They are nothing more than Normal Monsters!"

"**Featherman** and **Burstlady**… Normal Monsters with low ATK are just their temporary forms," Judai explained as he held up a card. "You're in for a shock when you see their true form, sensei! I activate the Magic card, **Fusion**!" As Judai played his card, his two Monsters leapt into the air. "This'll fuse **Featherman** and **Burstlady**!" The two Monsters then dissolved into pixels only to reform into a single, larger Monster with a green and black body, a dragon's head for a right arm, a single white wing sprouting from its back on the left side and a dragon's tail protruding from its backside. "Fusion Summon! My favorite card, **Elemental HERO Flame Wingman**!"

**Elemental HERO Flame Wingman  
LV 6  
Hono  
Warrior/Fusion/Effect  
ATK 2100 / DEF 1200**

* * *

"Cool!" Sho said with amazement.

"That **Flame Wingman** of his can only be summoned with a Fusion Summon," Misawa explained. "It can deal damage to the opposing player equal to the ATK of the opposing Monster it destroys in battle."

"This is why I'd like to duel him," Kazuma added. "The **Elemental HERO** cards are mostly focused on Fusion, just like my **Personas**. Both decks have a wide diversity of effects they can use this way. A duel between them could go either way."

"But still, **Flame Wingman's** ATK is 2100, so it's nowhere near **Antique Gear Golem's** ATK," Sho pointed out worriedly.

"Yeah. If he's really Number 1, he'll work something out," Misawa said.

"Actually, he's Number 110…" Sho corrected.

* * *

"I shall give you a special lecture, so listen up…" Chronos said. "Please keep that in mind! You may have Fusion Summoned it, but its ATK is 2100. It comes well short of my **Antique Gear Golem**!"

"Then, I'll teach you something, sensei," Judai said. "Heroes have a battle arena fit just for Heroes!" As Judai spoke, he held up his Duel Disk and a slot on the side opened up. "The Field Magic, **Skyscraper**!"

Once Judai played his final card, the Duel field began to glow as tall buildings rose up around the two duelists and their Monsters. Once everything was in place, **Flame Wingman** stood atop the tallest of the skyscrapers with the moon shining behind it.

"Okay, the stage is set!" Judai declared. "Go, **Flame Wingman**! Attack **Antique Gear Golem**!"

**Flame Wingman** spread its wing and dove down towards the mechanized giant.

"Scherzi! You must be joking!" Chronos scoffed. "**Flame Wingman's** ATK doesn't hold a candle to **Antique Gear Golem**!"

Despite what Chronos said, **Flame Wingman** continued to fly down at its opponent. Then, once its feet touched the ground, the Fusion Monster jumped higher into the air above **Antique Gear Golem**.

"A hero always wins!" Judai said. "**Skyscraper **is Field Magic that, should an **Elemental HERO** battle with a Monster with an ATK higher than its own, will raise its ATK by 1000 points!"

"O, Dio!" Chronos cried out in shock.

"Take this! **Skyscraper Shoot**!" Judai commanded as **Flame Wingman** grew stronger.

_[ Elemental HERO Flame Wingman - ATK: 2100-3100 ]_

It then spun around in the air and dove down at **Antique Gear Golem** with its body now engulfed in flames.

Professor Chronos did nothing as he watched Judai's Monster crash down on top of his own, creating an explosion that engulfed the holographic city as the spectators watched with wide-eyes at what was without a doubt a victory for Judai.

_**Judai: 2000  
Chronos: 3000-2900**_

"Mamma Mia! My **Antique Gear Golem**, it has-" Professor Chronos cried as pieces of his Monster began to fall around him until one piece landed right on his head while **Flame Wingman** returned to Judai's field.

"Thanks to **Flame Wingman's** Monster Effect, you'll take damage equal to the ATK of the destroyed Monster, sensei," Judai explained.

"What?!" Chronos asked, only to look up and see his Monster continue to crumble. "N-No, no, no, no, no! N-No, no! No!"

Unfortunately, the remains of **Antique Gear Golem** fell right on top of the Professor, signifying the damage from **Flame Wingman's** Monster Effect.

_**Judai LP: 2000 (winner)  
Chronos LP: 2900-0**_

Judai then raised his hand and held out a two-fingered salute, "Gotcha! That sure was a fun duel, sensei!"

"But how…" Chronos mumbled, mortified by his loss as the holograms faded away. "How was I beaten by that dropout boy?!"

* * *

Up in the bleachers, Manjoume and his two "lackeys" were wide-eyed at Judai's win over Chronos.

"I can't believe Professor Chronos was just beaten by an examinee!" Manjoume said in shock.

* * *

"He's kind of interesting, isn't he?" Asuka asked her two companions, only to see Ryo walk off.

"I get the feeling this is going to be an incredibly interesting year," Mamoru said with a smirk.

* * *

"Way to go, Number 110!" Sho cheered.

"He did it." Kazuma said to himself.

_'You might turn out to be a fine rival, Number 1-kun,'_ Misawa thought to himself with a smirk on his face. _'Kazuma-kun will too, for that matter.'_

"Yay! I won! I did it!" Judai cheered, jumping around down on the Duel field and waving at the spectators before pulling out the **Winged Kuriboh** card. "I'll be counting on you from now on, Partner."

**"Kuri kuri!"** the spirit inside the card squeaked as it winked at Judai.

_**And with that, the chapter has finally concluded. I promise that there won't be that many chapters that are this long, just thought I'd put that put there.**_

_**Anyways, like I said before, if you want to submit an OC for the story, feel free to drop me a PM if you're interested, and we'll talk from there.**_

_**GX Dictionary**_

**(1):** "Big brother". Can be used even if the sibling being referred to is the same age as the speaker, so long as the referred sibling was born before the speaker.

**(2):** "Little sister". Can be used even if the sibling being referred to is the same age as the speaker, so long as the referred sibling was born after the speaker.

**(3):** "What?"

**(4):** "Dad/Father"

**(5):** "Mom/Mother"

**(6):** "San" (さん) (sometimes pronounced han (はん) in Kansai dialect), derived from "sama", is the most commonplace honorific, and is a title of respect typically used between equals of any age. Although the closest analog in English are the honorifics "Mr.", "Miss", "Mrs.", or "Ms.", "san" is almost universally added to a person's name, in both formal and informal contexts. However, in addition to being used with people's names, it is also employed in a variety of other ways.  
"Sama", on the other hand, is a markedly more respectful form of "san", and is generally only used when the speaker is referring to someone or something that they hold great respect for.

**(7):** "Kun" (君【くん】) is used by persons of senior status in addressing or referring to those of junior status, or by anyone when addressing or referring to male children or male teenagers, or among male friends. It can also be used by females when addressing a male that they are emotionally attached to or have known for a long period of time. Although "kun" is generally used for boys, that is not a hard rule. For example, "kun" can be used to name a close personal friend or family member of any gender. Also, in business settings, young female employees may also be addressed as kun by older males of senior status. It can also be used by male teachers addressing their female students.

**(8):** "It's my turn!" - The Japanese word "boku" is meant to be used by the speaker when they're talking to or about someone or something familiar to them but as such is an informal way of speaking.

**(9):** "End turn!"

**(10):** "It's my turn!" - The Japanese word "watashi" is the polite/formal way of mentioning yourself in a conversation and, outside of anime/manga, is probably the most common of the phrases.

**(11):** "Create". In these specific cases, Kazuma is saying, "Create Chi You!" and "Create Ardha!".

**(12):** "Triangle Fusion"

**(13):** "Line Fusion"

**(14): **"It's my turn!" - The Japanese word "ore", while probably being one of the most used words by characters in anime or manga, means that the speaker is talking to or about someone very familiar to them or talking to someone they believe to be inferior to them and as such is considered rude and, obviously, is informal.

**(15):** I'm assuming you all know what "Sensei" means. But for those who don't, it's essentially what you call a teacher or mentor.

**Featured Cards:**

_**Fool Persona - Obariyon  
LV 2  
Chi  
Demon/Union  
ATK 300 / DEF 700  
**_Effect - Once per turn: You can equip this card to a "Persona" Monster you control OR unequip it to Special Summon it in face-up Defense Position. While this card is equipped to a Monster, that Monster gains 500 ATK. The controller of the equipped Monster can draw 1 additional card during their Draw Phase. (A Monster can only be equipped with 1 Union monster at a time. If the equipped Monster would be destroyed, destroy this card instead.)

_**Fool Persona - Ose  
LV 5  
Chi  
Beast-Warrior/Effect  
ATK 1800 / DEF 2100  
**_Effect - If you control no Monsters, you can Normal Summon this card without a Tribute. This card is also treated as a Warrior-Type Monster. This card can attack twice during the Battle Phase.

**_Tower Persona - Chi You  
LV 8  
Chi  
Warrior/Fusion/Effect  
ATK 2500 / DEF 1900  
Fusion Materials - "Tower Persona - Cu Chulainn" + "Tower Persona - Masakado" + "Tower Persona - Bishamonten"  
_**Effect - (This card is always treated as a "Tower Persona" Monster.) While this card is face-up on the field: All "Persona" Monsters you control gain 600 ATK and DEF. If this card attacks a Defense Position Monster: Inflict Piercing Battle Damage to your opponent.

**_Judgement Persona - Ardha  
LV 10  
Hikari  
Warrior/Fusion/Effect  
ATK 3400 / DEF 2500  
Fusion Materials - "Tower Persona - Shiva" + "Priestess Persona - Parvati"  
_**Effect - (This card is always treated as a "Judgement Persona" Monster.) This card is also treated as a Yami-Attribute Monster. This card is also treated as a "Tower Persona" and "Priestess Persona" Monster. This card cannot be destroyed by Battle with a Hikari or Mizu-Attribute Monster, and all damage you would take from that Battle is reduced to 0. Once per turn, you can activate 1 of the following effects:  
● If you would gain life Points through a card effect, that amount is doubled.  
● When this card attacks, destroy the attack target immediately without applying damage calculation.

_**Persona Fusion - Line Spread  
Normal Magic Card**_  
Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using 2 "Persona" Monsters from your hand, field, Deck, or Extra Deck as Fusion Materials. The following effects are also applied:  
● You cannot conduct your Normal Summon this turn if you use "Persona" Monsters from your Deck as Fusion Materials. If you have conducted your Normal Summon this turn, you cannot use "Persona" Monsters from your Deck as Fusion Materials.  
● You cannot Special Summon other Monsters this turn if you use "Persona" Monsters from your Extra Deck as Fusion Materials. If you have Special Summoned other Monsters this turn, you cannot use "Persona" Monsters from your Extra Deck as Fusion Materials.

_**Persona Fusion - Triangle Spread  
Normal Magic Card**_  
Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using 3 "Persona" Monsters from your hand, field, Deck, or Extra Deck as Fusion Materials. The following effects are also applied:  
● You cannot conduct your Normal Summon this turn if you use "Persona" Monsters from your Deck as Fusion Materials. If you have conducted your Normal Summon this turn, you cannot use "Persona" Monsters from your Deck as Fusion Materials.  
● You cannot Special Summon other Monsters this turn if you use "Persona" Monsters from your Extra Deck as Fusion Materials. If you have Special Summoned other Monsters this turn, you cannot use "Persona" Monsters from your Extra Deck as Fusion Materials.

_**Persona Skill - Counter  
Counter Trap Card  
**_You can activate this card from your hand by paying 500 Life Points. If your opponent declares an attack with a Monster they control: Negate the attack and destroy the attacking Monster. You can then add 1 "Persona Skill: Counterstrike" from your Deck to your hand.


	3. Turn 2

**Per-So-Na! GX: Eleven Stars**

**Turn 2**

_**Hey everyone and welcome back to Per-So-Na! GX: Eleven Stars. This chapter will finally give you guys insight on what Naomi's deck is (as if the hint I left wasn't obvious enough). And as far as the duel for this chapter goes, I did it myself, since The Azure Guardian is only good with self-made decks when it comes to duels.**_

_**Either way, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter.**_

* * *

With the practical duel exams over, the faculty of Duel Academia gave the accepted examinees a few days to pack everything they'd need for their stay on the island during the course of the year. Afterwards, the accepted students were being flown to the island via helicopter with Judai sleeping against the window and Sho sitting beside him. Kazuma was currently sitting a few rows in front of then with Naomi, who was looking around at some of the other students. Meanwhile, Kazuma had a pair of headphones on his head, and his MP3 player was going through a playlist.

_**~We are living our lives… Abound with so much information…~**_

"Whoa, look at that!" one of the students exclaimed, to which all the other students minus Judai moved around to look out their windows. Kazuma, noticing the commotion, looked out the window as well.

Not too far off was an island with a large building surrounded by forests, what looked like a beach, and a volcano.

* * *

After the helicopter landed near the building, the students were led inside where they were directed to various changing rooms. Kazuma found himself going into the same room as Misawa before noticing everyone in the room had been given a yellow jacket uniform. Kazuma, after changing, now wore the yellow jacket over a grey shirt and grey pants. He had also placed his headphones around his neck. Once everyone had finished changing, they were led out of the room where they met up with the other students who were dressed in blue or red and were taken to a classroom, which was on par with those one would find at a university. The students were then lined up in front of a large screen. Kazuma stood next to his sister, who wore a uniform similar to his. The red-haired girl was wearing a white uniform with a raised collar, yellow trimming, yellow elbow-length fingerless gloves and a yellow miniskirt.

_'Huh… I wonder what the colors are for…'_ Kazuma thought to himself before the screen at the front turned on to show the face of a bald middle-aged man with a goatee wearing an oxblood-colored uniform.

_**"Welcome, Dueling Elites,"**_ the man greeted. _**"You all used your skills to open the narrow admission gates. Please have fun studying in hopes of becoming the future Duel King."**_

Once the introduction was finished, even though Judai slept through the whole thing only to wake up once it was over, the students were given keys to their dorm rooms and PDA-like devices, which stored their ID, grades, a map of the island, and just about everything else they'd need during their year-long stay on the island. Every student was also given an academy-issued Duel Disk with the sole exception being Kazuma who instead had his own Duel Disk reconfigured to the school's database. Once finished, all the students made their way out of the building, checking their planners for where they would be staying as the Akasaka twins spotted Judai and Sho sitting on a small statue just outside.

"Sho! Judai!" Naomi waved over to the two, earning their attention.

"Oh, hey Kazuma, Naomi," Judai greeted.

"What are you two up to?" the **Digital Devil** Duelist asked.

"Looking at the map of the island and seeing where our dorm is," Sho answered as Judai continued to tap on his Student Personal Planner, or SPP for short.

"The dorms we'll be living in from now on are split into three," Judai explained. "Oh, Osiris Red is my dorm."

"Ah, I'm Red too," Sho said as he also looked through his SPP.

"Looks like we won't be seeing much of each other," Kazuma said plainly as he held up his SPP. "I'm in Ra Yellow."

"Same here." Naomi added.

"Ah." Judai nodded before seeing Misawa walking up to the group of three. "Hey, Number 2, are you Red too?"

"Nope, I can tell from my uniform," Misawa answered as he raised his right arm a little, as if showing them the yellow jacket he wore. "I'm a Ra Yellow."

"Oh, so that's what your uniform color means?" Judai wondered as he looked over his jacket.

"But why are you in Red?" Misawa wondered aloud. "That's very peculiar."

"Hmm? That's putting it somewhat vaguely…" Judai grumbled as he pouted.

"Well, don't let it bother you," Misawa said as he turned to walk away. "I'll be on my way, now, Number 1-kun. Kazuma-kun, are you coming?"

"Yeah. See you guys later, I guess." Kazuma said as he and Naomi caught up with the yellow-clothed duelist.

"Well, _you_ just better do your best, and try not to let things get you down!" Judai said as the Ra Yellow students were walking away, but then Misawa stopped.

"Ah, that's right…" Misawa said as he turned back to face the pair of Osiris Reds and pointed his thumb to the west. "Your dorms are over there."

The pair looked in the direction Misawa was pointing and then looked to each other as the Ra student walked off to the southwest.

* * *

The three Ra Yellows soon arrived at the Ra Dorm. As Kazuma saw the place he'd be staying for three years, it reminded him somewhat of a library on the outside. True to its name, the large building itself was mostly yellow in color.

"Here we are, shall we go inside?" Misawa spoke up. The twins nodded and the trio walked inside, revealing that the inside seemed more like a typical apartment building of sorts. After looking at their room assignments, the trio discovered they were on the same floor. Kazuma and Naomi were right across the hall from each other, while Misawa was a few rooms down from the twins.

Kazuma unlocked the door to his room and stepped in while Naomi did the same to hers. As he expected, his things were brought to the room beforehand, noting the suitcases and other various things placed neatly by the door. The room itself was what you would normally find in an apartment. As the **Persona** Duelist closed the door behind him, he silently got to work by moving the suitcases further into the room and began unpacking them.

Once he had finished with everything else later that afternoon, Kazuma picked up a small silver briefcase and placed it on the desk in one corner of the room. He unlocked and opened it, revealing that the topmost item inside was a small framed picture. In the picture, a younger Kazuma and Naomi were standing in between an older man and woman. Both seemed to be in their early forties, with the man having short red hair much like the **Persona** Duelist. The woman had longer brown hair she let hang down. Kazuma's fist slowly tightened as he looked at the adults in the picture.

"Tou-san… Kaa-san…" Kazuma whispered. "I promise… I'll make things right." With that, he took the picture and placed it on the nightstand next to his bed. Walking back over to the briefcase, he looked at the remaining items. Inside the case were a number of deck boxes, each one holding around forty cards, the minimum amount required for a Duel Monsters deck. Taking one of the stacks of cards out of a box, Kazuma looked through them, revealing that each one was a **Persona** card of some sort. Kazuma suddenly heard a knock on his door as he was looking through the cards.

"The door's unlocked!" Kazuma called towards the front of the room. He heard the door open and in stepped Naomi.

"Hey Aniki, you have your stuff unpacked?" Naomi asked. Kazuma turned his head slightly and nodded. "Ah. You want to go and check out the island then?"

"Yeah… Sure..." Kazuma replied. Naomi noticed the opened briefcase and walked up to her brother before placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Kazuma… It wasn't your-" Naomi began.

"You and I both _know_ what happened, Naomi. I know you don't want me to feel guilty, but at the end of the day, there's no denying it." Kazuma interrupted her, his voice becoming harsher for a brief moment. He sighed and placed the cards back in their box before placing the box back in the briefcase. "Are you ready?"

"Y-Yeah…" Naomi said as she took her hand off of his shoulder. With that, the twins walked out of the room, with Kazuma locking the door behind him.

* * *

As the Akasaka twins walked around the island, they checked out some of the key locations marked on the maps in their SPP's. They eventually came across a large, elaborate blue-painted building that almost looked like a five-star hotel.

"So… This is the Obelisk Blue boys' dorm, huh?" Naomi wondered aloud as she looked at her SPP. "It's definitely different from the Ra dorm."

"Not to mention that Obelisk is the only dorm split into boys and girls." Kazuma added. Suddenly, Kazuma threw his hand to his head as pain wracked through it.

"Aniki! Are you alright?" Naomi exclaimed worriedly as she hurried over to her brother.

"_**Thou art I…"**_

"Huh?" Kazuma wondered.

"_**I am thou…"**_

"Aniki?" Naomi asked.

"Hey you two!" a voice called out. The female twin turned around to see a pair of students clothed in blue jackets with white trimmings. "This is the Obelisk dorm! No Ra's allowed!"

"Oh! S-Sorry! We were just walking around before the welcoming party." Naomi apologized. Kazuma managed to stand straight, despite the pain, and glared at the Obelisk boys.

"The hell's your problem?" the second boy asked as he saw the glare.

"This may be your dorm, but there's no need to be so uptight." Kazuma said blandly.

"What the-?! What was that?" the first Obelisk asked.

"You heard me." Kazuma replied.

"Grr… Alright you know what? How about we duel. Maybe that'll shut you up!" he said as he activated his Duel Disk.

"Fine by me." Kazuma said, but Naomi stopped him from reaching for his deck.

"Why don't I take care of this one, Aniki? You don't look too good right now." Naomi suggested. Kazuma looked at her for moment before nodding.

"Doesn't make a difference to me." The first Obelisk said cockily as he watched Naomi hesitantly activate her Duel Disk.

"Good luck, Imouto." Kazuma said as he stepped back.

"DUEL!"

_**Naomi LP: 4000  
Obelisk 1 LP: 4000**_

"Ore no tan!" the obelisk said as he drew his sixth card. "I'll start off by activating the Magic Card **Hand Severing**. This makes us both discard two cards and then draw two new ones." Both Duelists complied with the card's effect, discarding two cards from their hands and drawing two to replace them. "Next I set a Monster facedown." A facedown Monster Card appeared on the Obelisk's field. "Tan endo."

'_What's up with this guy? He was the one that issued this challenge, yet he isn't going on the offensive.'_ Kazuma wondered.

"Boku no tan!" Naomi said as she drew her sixth card. "I summon **Digital Devil - Serph the Embryon** in Attack mode!" As Naomi played her card, the silver-haired man clothed in grey from her examination duel appeared.

**Digital Devil - Serph the Embryon  
LV 4  
Chi  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK [1600] / DEF 1400**

"And since I control **Serph**, I'm allowed to Special Summon **Digital Devil - Sera the Embryon**!" Naomi continued as she placed another Monster Card on her Duel Disk. A young woman with very short black hair and light blue eyes. She, like **Serph**, wore a grey military uniform with patches and trimmings that were orange in color. She also carried a pistol with her. Sera also sported a crown-shaped tattoo on her cheek, much like Serph.

**Digital Devil - Sera the Embryon  
LV 4  
Chi  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK [1400] / DEF 1600**

'_She's already setting up, huh?'_ Kazuma thought to himself.

"**Serph**, attack his facedowm Monster!" Naomi ordered. **Serph** nodded, as if directly responding to Naomi, and aimed his gun at the reversed Monster before firing. A hole appeared in the card is it shattered, revealing a large green turtle with a UFO-like shell momentarily before the Monster shattered into pixels.

**UFO Turtle  
LV 4  
Hono  
Machine/Effect  
ATK 1400 / DEF [1200]**

"You just attacked my **UFO Turtle**!" the Obelisk said as he took out his deck and began looking for a certain card. "Now, since it was destroyed, I can Special Summon a Hono Monster with 1500 or less ATK from my deck. And I choose my second** UFO Turtle**!" Appearing on the field was a copy of the large turtle.

**UFO Turtle  
LV 4  
Hono  
Machine/Effect  
ATK [1400] / DEF 1200**

"Hm… I place a card facedown. Tan endo." Naomi concluded.

"Ore no tan!" the Obelisk said as he began his turn. "I summon **Little Chimera** in Attack mode!" Appearing on the field was a grey-furred animal that appeared to be the combination of various animals, hence the name.

**Little Chimera  
LV 2  
Hono  
Beast/Effect  
ATK [600] / DEF 550**

"I activate **Little Chimera's** Monster effect!" he continued. "All Hono-Attribute Monsters gain 500 ATK, and all Mizu-Attribute Monsters lose 400 ATK." The chimera let out a howl as its own power as well as **UFO Turtle's** power increased.

_[Little Chimera - ATK: 600-1100]  
[UFO Turtle - ATK: 1400-1900]_

"**UFO Turtle**, attack **Sera the Embryon**!" the Obelisk ordered, to which the turtle fired a blast of flames from its mouth at the now panicking woman.

"_**Naomi! Do something!"**_ Sera said.

"Trap Card open!" Naomi countered. "**Attack Nullification**! This card negates your attack and ends the Battle Phase!"

"Damn…" the Obelisk cursed as his turtle's attack hit an invisible barrier. "I place three cards facedown. Tan endo."

"_**That was too close…"**_ Sera sighed.

"Don't worry, I've got this." Naomi said in a low voice. "Boku no tan!" Naomi began her turn. "I summon **Digital Devil - Heat the Embryon** in Attack mode!" The next Monster to appear was a man with long red hair, wearing similar clothes to the other **Embryons**. In addition, he also wore a grey cloak that covered his left side, leaving his right side uncovered to reveal the fireball-shaped tattoo on his forearm. In his hand he carried a grenade launcher.

**Digital Devil - Heat the Embryon  
LV 3  
Chi  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK [1400] / DEF 1400**

"Next, I activate **Serph's** Monster Effect!" Naomi continued. "If I control 2 other Digital Devil Monsters with different names, I can destroy up to 2 Magic or Trap Cards my opponent controls!" the Obelisk gasped as two of his facedowns, which were two copies of **Holy Barrier - Mirror Force**, shattered as **Serph** shot them with his gun. "Now I activate the Magic Card, **Atma Brand - Water Crown**!" Naomi announced as she played the Magic, depicting the tattoo that was present on both **Serph** and **Sera**. "With this, I can activate 1 of two effects, and I choose the first!"

"And what's that do? Like it makes any difference!" the Obelisk mocked.

"This lets me return **Serph** to my hand…" Naomi said as **Serph's** tattoo began to glow a light blue. "… in order to Special Summon **Atma Avatar - Varna** from my hand!" As Naomi switched around Serph's card with another one, **Serph** himself let out a cry of pain, which slowly turned into a primal roar. Blue veins had begun to spread out from the glowing tattoo as **Serph** slowly transformed into a new form entirely. Soon, **Serph** had transformed into a grey-skinned demonic, bipedal creature with a white exoskeleton. A pair of blades were attached to the creature's forearms, which deployed by "flipping" over with the simple flick of the creature's wrists.

**Atma Avatar - Varna  
LV 6  
Mizu  
Demon/Effect  
ATK [2300] / DEF 1900**

"N-Nani?!" the Obelisks said at the same time as they flinched from the sight of the demon. However, the first obelisk smirked.

"Baka_**(1)**_! My **Little Chimera's** Monster Effect causes Mizu Monsters to lose 400 ATK, remember?" he asked mockingly as Varna lost some power.

_[Atma Avatar - Varna - ATK: 2300-1900]_

"It's still enough to destroy it!" Naomi added. "**Varna**, attack **Little Chimera** with Bufu!" Varna's yellow eyes glowed as an icicle shot up out of the ground and impaled the chimera, causing it to shatter into pixels.

_**Naomi LP: 4000  
Obelisk 1 LP: 4000-3200**_

"Trap Card open!" the Obelisk countered as his only set card rose, depicting a Monster attacking amidst an explosion. "**Backfire**! When a Hono Monster I control is destroyed, I can inflict 500 damage to my opponent!" A small explosion knocked Naomi back a as the card's effect was activated.

_**Naomi LP: 4000-3500  
Obelisk 1 LP: 3200**_

"Grr… Whenever **Atma Avatar - Varna** destroys a Monster in Battle, his ATK increases by 200. And because your **Chimera** is no longer on the field, Varna's ATK goes back to normal, as well as **UFO Turtle's**."

_[UFO Turtle - ATK: 1900-1400]  
[Atma Avatar - Varna - ATK: 1900-2300-2500]_

"Next, **Sera** attacks you **UFO Turtle**!" Naomi continued. "And if I control **Serph**, she gains 300 ATK during the Battle Phase."

_[Digital Devil - Sera - ATK: 1400-1700]_

**Sera** closed her left eye as she aimed her pistol and fired at the turtle, causing it to shatter into pixels. While the Obelisk lost Life Points due to the attack, Naomi did as well because of **Backfire**.

_**Naomi LP: 3500-3000  
Obelisk 1 LP: 3200-2900**_

"**Heat**, attack him directly!" **Heat** readied his grenade launcher and fired it at the Obelisk, the resulting explosion knocking the Obelisk back.

_**Naomi LP: 3000  
Obelisk 1 LP: 2900-1500**_

'_Naomi's got this guy on the ropes now.'_ Kazuma thought. _'This guy may talk a big game, but in reality he can't measure up.'_

"I place a card face-down. Tan endo." Naomi concluded. The Obelisk growled in annoyance.

"That's it, I'm through playing around!" he said as he drew his next card, and grinned madly soon after. "It's here! The Monster that will win me this duel!"

'He can't be so confident, can he?' Kazuma wondered.

"I release **Sera** and **Heat** from your field!" the Obelisk shouted as the aforementioned monsters turned into light that flowed into the ground.

"Wait, what?!" Naomi asked in shock.

'_No way! He has _that_ card?!'_ Kazuma panicked.

"Now I can Special Summon my **Demonic Lava God - Lava Golem**!" Suddenly, lava erupted from the ground behind Naomi, which began to form itself into a more humanoid shape. A metal cage then formed around the **Digital Devil** Duelist and was lifted into the air as it hung from a metal collar on the golem's neck.

**Demonic Lava God - Lava Golem  
LV 8  
Hono  
Demon/Effect  
ATK [3000] / DEF 2500**

'_Shit!'_ Kazuma swore.

"I set a card face-down. Tan endo." The Obelisk said triumphantly.

"B-Boku no tan." Naomi said in a panic as she drew her next card. Suddenly, lava dripped from the golem's body and landed inside the cage by Naomi's feet.

_**Naomi LP: 3000-2000  
Obelisk 1 LP: 1500**_

"**Demonic Lava God - Lava Golem's** Monster Effect causes you to take 1000 damage during each of your Standby Phases while you control it." The Obelisk gloated.

"Grr… I attack you directly with **Varna**!" Naomi declared as **Varna's** eyes began to glow again.

"Trap Card open! **Attack Nullification**!" the Obelisk countered with a smirk. Naomi gasped as her attack was negated.

"I… I set a card face-down. Tan endo." Naomi sighed.

"Ore no tan!" the Obelisk said casually as he started his turn. "I set two cards facedown. Tan endo."

'_He's got her… That __**Lava Golem**__ will keep inflicting damage to her on each of her turns until her Life Points reach zero…'_ Kazuma mused in annoyance. Naomi apparently came to the same conclusion as she was reluctant to start her turn.

"Boku no tan…" She drew her card as more lava dripped into her cage, this time the lava managed to eat a small hole in the bottom of the metal structure.

_**Naomi LP: 2000-1000  
Obelisk 1 LP: 1500**_

However, as she saw the card she drew, she seemed to gain a small hope.

"I activate the Magic Card, **Sate Hunger**!" Naomi declared as she played the Magic, depicting **Serph** changing back into his human form. "With this, I can return one **Atma Avatar** Monster on my field to my hand, and then Special Summon a **Digital Devil** Monster from my hand that's two Levels lower than the **Atma Avatar**!"

"What? Why would you summon a weaker Monster?" the Obelisk asked in confusion.

"I return **Varna** to my hand to Special Summon **Digital Devil - Serph the Embryon** _from_ my hand!" Naomi added as Varna began to undergo its transformation in reverse, becoming Serph once more.

**Digital Devil - Serph the Embryon  
LV 4  
Chi  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK [1600] / DEF 1400**

"Next, I activate my facedown, **Berserk Mode**!" Naomi continued. "This lets me return a **Digital Devil** to my hand in order to Special Summon a Monster from my hand with **/Berserk Mode** in its name, as long as its text includes the name of the first Monster!"

"Eh?"

"I return **Serph** to my hand again in order to Special Summon **Digital Devil - Serph /Berserk Mode**!" Naomi said as **Serph's** Atma Brand began to glow once more, only this time the transformation stopped itself partway through. His overall form remained the same, though now his right arm resembled that of **Varna's**, while his eyes had turned bright yellow.

**Digital Devil - Serph /Berserk Mode  
LV 5  
Mizu  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK [2000] / DEF 0**

'_Hm…'_ Kazuma thought.

"Now I Summon **Digital Devil - Cielo the Embryon**!" Naomi continued as another Monster appeared on Naomi's field. This one being a man with blue hair tied into dreadlocks and wearing similar clothing to **Serph**. A strange-looking tattoo was present on his right leg.

**Digital Devil - Cielo the Embryon  
LV 3  
Chi  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK [1400] / DEF 1100**

"**Cielo**, attack him directly!" Naomi ordered.

"_**I'm on it!"**_ **Cielo** replied as he readied a machine gun.

"I don't think so! Trap Card open! **Holy Barrier - Mirror Force**!" The Obelisk countered.

"**Digital Devil - Cielo the Embryon's** Monster Effect!" Naomi countered as well. "if a Magic, Trap, or Monster effect is activated that would destroy cards on my field, I can negate its activation and destroy it!"

"Nani?!" the Obelisk gasped as his Trap was shattered into pixels. **Cielo** proceeded with his attack by firing a machine gun at the Obelisk boy's feet.

_**Naomi LP: 1000  
Obelisk 1 LP: 1500-100**_

"**Serph**, attack him directly and end this!" Naomi commanded from her cage. **Serph** nodded once more and charged forward as he readied the blade on his demonic arm. He slashed the Obelisk boy across the chest, depleting his Life Points.

_**Naomi LP: 1000 **_(winner)_**  
Obelisk 1 LP: 100-0**_

The **Lava Golem** slowly melted into the ground as the cage confining Naomi dematerialized along with the rest of the holograms.

"I can't believe I just lost to a Ra Yellow!" the first Obelisk exclaimed as he ran off with his friend.

""That was a good duel, Naomi." Kazuma complimented his sister.

"Thanks Aniki. How are you feeling?" the **Digital Devil** Duelist replied.

"I'm… fine for now." Kazuma answered. "We should probably be heading back soon."

"Oh yeah! The welcoming party for the dorms starts soon doesn't it?" Naomi said. With that, the Akasaka twins walked off back towards the Ra dorm.

* * *

Later that night, all of the dorms were having parties to welcome the new students.

The Obelisk Blue dorms were being treated to a party on par with five-star restaurants or hotels, serving fancy, rich foods while playing classical music as the students conversed amongst each other. Though in the boy's dorm, one of the second-year students, Tachibana Mamoru, was sitting with Ryo and thinking about Kazuma out of interest.

Meanwhile at the girl's dorm, a young woman with lime green hair and blue eyes was standing up as everyone looked towards her expectantly. The woman was trying her best to hide her nervousness as she began making a speech.

* * *

At the Ra Yellow dorms, the students were treated to rich seafood while introducing themselves. Misawa was already hitting off a friendship with the Akasaka twins, though Kazuma was mainly just listening to the conversation and otherwise focused on eating his meal.

* * *

Over at the Osiris Red dorms, however… things weren't going as well for the students as at the other dorms.

"What's _this_!?" one of the students complained as everyone was looking at their food; a bowl of rice, a plate of small fish, and a bowl of dipping sauce all served on a cafeteria lunch tray. "The other dorms have an incredible feast! And to make things worse, our dorm leader isn't even _human_!"

All of the students turned their attention towards the table at the front of the room to see a rather fat brown cat curled up on it before letting out a yawn.

"He's a cat…?" another student questioned.

Stepping out from the room at the back though was a rather scrawny-looking man with long black hair tied back into a ponytail wearing a white shirt, black pants, belt and necktie and a pair of square-lensed glasses.

"I'm your dorm leader, Daitokuji-nya!" the man greeted his students. "In class, I'll be in charge of alchemy. Pleased to meet you all-nya."

"Delicious!" the familiar voice of Yuki Judai rang out, earning everyone's attention as he had already started to eat.

"T-That's tasteless, Big Bro," Sho told the E-HERO duelist.

"Really? It's awfully delicious to me!" Judai said with his mouth full.

Daitokuji was suddenly standing at the table occupied by the two friends, causing Judai to stop eating and sweatdrop as the pair looked up at their dorm leader.

"A matter so small doesn't bother me-nya!" the dorm leader said with a grin on his face before turning around to face the other students. "Well, everyone, it will be a pleasure working with you all-nya."

* * *

Once everyone had finished their meals and gotten through introductions, the students had returned to their rooms.

That night, Kazuma sat in his bed looking up at the ceiling. For some reason, he was unable to sleep. Sighing, the **Persona** Duelist sat up in his bed. He looked at the clock beside his bed he had brought with him, noting it read 11:59 PM.

"It's no use…" Kazuma said to himself as he shook his head. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the clock read 12:00, midnight, before it went dead without warning. "Huh?" As Kazuma wondered what could have caused the clock to go out, he noticed something had definitely changed about his room.

The first thing that Kazuma noticed was that an eerie greenish light was pouring in from the window. Getting out of bed, he went to his window and discovered the source of the light. The moon, to his amazement, had grown to thrice its normal size, and had turned to a greenish-yellow color. Then, as he looked towards the sea from the window, he stepped back in shock at what he saw. The waters had turned crimson red, almost like blood.

'_What the hell is going on here?!'_ Kazuma thought to himself. _'Something doesn't feel natural about this…'_ Without giving a second thought, Kazuma changed into his normal clothes, grabbed his Ra jacket, and ran out the door and across the hall. He knocked on his sister's door. "Imouto!" Before he could knock again, the door opened and Naomi almost ran into Kazuma and knocked him over. She had also gotten dressed and evidently had the same idea Kazuma had.

"A-Aniki…." Naomi said as she and Kazuma stepped into the hall. "W-What's going on here? Something isn't right…"

"I know…" Kazuma said. "I have no idea what's happening either, but it can't be good. We should try and get out of here." Naomi nodded quickly as the twins ran down the hall and down a flight of stairs. As they hurried out of the Ra dorm, they almost immediately regretted it.

Ahead of them was a large group of black blob-like creatures. Each of these creatures had a small blue mask with the Roman numeral for one etched into the forehead somehow attached to their heads.

"N-Nani?!" Naomi gasped. The creatures suddenly began to convulse and change shape. After a matter of seconds, Kazuma and Naomi were nearly surrounded by a horde of floating pink-and-black-striped spherical creatures with large mouths being their dominant feature, along with the oversized tongues that hung from their mouths. The masks they previously wore were now affixed to the back of their bodies.

"This way!" Kazuma said as he grabbed Naomi's hand and led her towards the forest behind the dorm. As they ran into the forest, one of the creatures suddenly opened its mouth wide as fire materialized inside it. The fireball then shot forward and collided with the ground just behind the fleeing twins.

"Ah!" Naomi shrieked in alarm.

"Shit!" Kazuma swore. "The hell are these things?" The twins then found themselves inside a small clearing, but also found to their alarm that even more of the strange creatures were awaiting them. Kazuma looked back to see that the horde that had chased them had caught up as well. Many of the creatures had begun charging up more fireballs. Kazuma quickly pulled Naomi close to him and hugged her tightly, shielding her from the onslaught of projectiles.

"Aniki!" Naomi exclaimed as her brother screamed in pain from the fiery projectiles hitting his body. "Aniki!" By the time the assault had stopped, smoke was rising from Kazuma's back as he slowly released his sister and toppled over.

"Naomi… Run… Hurry…!" Kazuma managed to get out.

"No! I can't!" Naomi protested as she kneeled down next to her injured brother. "I-I can't lose you-"

"Just do it!" Kazuma snapped. "I'll hold these things off while you get away!"

"But…"

"_Go_!"

Tears began to well up in her eyes as Naomi finally gave up and complied, standing up and running through a gap in the horde of creatures, which didn't seem to pay her any mind. Kazuma slowly stood up as well and stared down the creatures, despite the amount of pain he was in, and unaware of the fact that Naomi had simply hid from view where she could watch her brother.

"I'm not… letting you things… touch my sister…!" Kazuma said. Suddenly, Kazuma's head began to throb. He held his hand to his forehead in reaction to the sudden jolt of pain.

"_**Thou art I…"**_

"H-Huh?" Kazuma wondered.

"_**I am thou…"**_

"That voice…?"

"_**The time has come… Open thine eyes… Reawaken what lies within!"**_

Suddenly, Kazuma could see a faint blue light coming from above. The **Persona** Duelist looked skyward to see something was floating down towards him. Unsure of why or how, Kazuma knew what he had to do. He began to reach his hand upwards to try and reach the object, which was now revealed to be a tarot card covered in blue flames. Evidently seeing this, the creatures suddenly went into a frenzied state and shot forward at Kazuma.

Kazuma moved his lips to pronounce each syllable of his next word.

"_**The time… is now!"**_

"Per…"

Kazuma could now feel power radiating from the card as it floated just above his raised palm.

"So…"

A grin bordering on insane formed on his face as his eyes began to glow blue.

"Na!"

_[BGM - "Reach out to The Truth ~First Battle~", from Persona 4]_

In that instant, Kazuma could feel an intense surge of power flowing through his body. A blue aura flared around his form and shot outwards, generating enough sheer force to drive the creatures back, even reducing some to black ichor. The wind began to pick up as a figure appeared behind Kazuma.

The figure in question was humanoid in shape, yet distinctly not human. While it took the shape of an athletically-fit man, it had no real features to its form. Its skin looked like what one would see if they gazed up into a starry sky. The only other notable trait was the brightly-glowing yellow eyes that stared at the creatures before it.

"_**Thou art I…"**_ The newcomer spoke. _**"I am thou… From my sleep within thy soul's vast sea, I have reawakened. I am Gemini, guardian of thy soul…"**_

Kazuma's insane grin turned into a smirk as he pointed towards the horde in front of him. The being known as Gemini crossed its arms and flew upwards as lightning began to crackle in the sky. A bolt of lightning shot down and struck one of the creatures, killing it in an instant. More lightning began to crackle as a multitude of bolts started raining down and eliminating the strange creatures, now in large numbers.

"Gemini!" Kazuma called out. Gemini seemed to know what its master was thinking and complied, suddenly gaining a greenish aura around its body before speeding around the clearing, striking any of the creatures that it got close to with punches or kicks. More lightning bolts also began to rain down, reducing the numbers of the monsters quickly. After a while, only a few remained, to which Gemini simply conjured more lightning bolts, obliterating the last few monsters that remained.

Kazuma took a look around the ichor-covered clearing, making sure that all the creatures were gone. He then looked up at Gemini, who simply vanished in a shower of blue sparkles, leaving behind two cards that floated in front of Kazuma's face. One was a tarot card covered in blue flames, which depicted a man standing on the edge of a cliff with a dog at his heels, while the other was a Duel Monsters card. The tarot card vanished in another shower of blue sparkles that washed over the persona Duelist's body, and Kazuma took the Duel Monsters card in his hand, looked over its contents carefully, and slid it into his pocket.

Suddenly, Kazuma felt incredibly weak to the point of exhaustion, and subsequently fell onto the ground before losing consciousness.

* * *

_**Digital Devil - Serph the Embryon  
LV 4  
Chi  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK 1600 / DEF 1400**_  
Effect - If you control a face-up "Digital Devil - Sera the Embryon", you can Special Summon this card from your hand. If you control at least 2 other "Embryon" Monsters with different names, you can destroy up to 2 Magic/Trap Cards your opponent controls.

_**Digital Devil - Serph /Berserk Mode  
LV 5  
Mizu  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK 2000 / DEF 0**_  
Effect - This card is also treated as a Demon-Type Monster. If you control at least 2 other "Embryon" or "/Berserk Mode" Monsters with different names, you can destroy all Magic/Trap Cards your opponent controls.

_**Digital Devil - Sera the Embryon  
LV 4  
Chi  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK 1400 / DEF 1600**_  
Effect - If you control a face-up "Digital Devil - Serph the Embryon" or "Digital Devil - Serph /Berserk Mode", you can Special Summon this card from your hand. If you control a face-up "Digital Devil - Serph the Embryon", "Digital Devil - Serph /Berserk Mode", or "Atma Avatar - Varna", this card gains 300 ATK during the Battle Phase.

_**Digital Devil - Heat the Embryon  
LV 3  
Chi  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK 1400 / DEF 1400**_  
Effect - If you control a face-up "Digital Devil - Sera the Embryon", "Digital Devil - Sera /Berserk Mode", or "Atma Avatar - Varnani", you can Special Summon this card from your hand. While this card is face-up on the field, your opponent cannot target a "Digital Devil - Sera the Embryon", "Digital Devil - Sera /Berserk Mode", or "Atma Avatar - Varnani" you control for an attack.

_**Digital Devil - Cielo the Embryon  
LV 3  
Chi  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK 1400 / DEF**_ _**1100**_  
Effect - When a Magic/Trap effect or Effect Monster's effect is activated that destroys a card(s) on the field: You can Release this card; negate the activation and destroy it. Your opponent cannot select a "Digital Devil - Sera the Embryon", "Digital Devil - Sera /Berserk Mode", or "Atma Avatar - Varnani" you control as an attack target.

_**Atma Avatar - Varna  
LV 6  
Mizu  
Demon/Effect  
ATK 2300 / DEF 1900**_  
Effect - This card's name is also treated as "Digital Devil - Serph the Embryon". This card cannot be destroyed by Battle with a Mizu-Attribute Monster. Each time this card destroys an opponent's Monster by Battle, increase its ATK by 200. If you control a face-up "Atma Avatar - Varnani", increase this card's ATK by 400.

_**Atma Brand - Water Crown  
Normal Magic Card**_  
Activate 1 of the following effects:  
● Target 1 face-up "Digital Devil - Serph the Embryon" you control; return it to your hand, then Special Summon 1 "Atma Avatar - Varna" Monster from your hand.  
● Target 1 face-up "Digital Devil - Sera the Embryon" you control; return it to your hand, then Special Summon 1 "Atma Avatar - Varnani" Monster from your hand.

_**Sate Hunger  
Normal Magic Card**_  
Target 1 face-up "Atma Avatar" Monster you control; return it to your hand, then Special Summon 1 "Digital Devil" Monster from your hand whose Level is 2 lower than the targeted Monster's. By returning one card from your hand to the Deck, you can add this card from your Cemetery to your hand.

_**Berserk Mode  
Normal Trap Card  
**_Target 1 face-up "Digital Devil" Monster you control; return it to your hand, then Special Summon 1 "/Berserk Mode" Monster from your hand whose name includes the targeted "Digital Devil" Monster's name. By returning one card from your hand to the Deck, you can add this card from your Cemetery to your hand.

* * *

_**(1):**_ "Idiot"

* * *

_**And there we have it folks. There's chapter 2 of Per-So-Na! GX: Eleven Stars. Next time we're gonna get a few things accomplished. As for what happens, you'll have to wait and see.**_

_**Anyways, as I said last chapter, if you guys are interested in submitting an Oc for this story, feel free to do so by dropping me a PM.**_

_**So until next time!**_


	4. Turn 3

**Per-So-Na! GX: Eleven Stars**

**Turn 3**

_**REJOICE! REJOICE I SAY!**_

_**Hey everyone, Master of the Wild Card reporting for duty! Welcome back to Per-So-Na! GX: Eleven Stars!**_

_**I bet you guys thought this story would die for good, and I did too, to be honest, but now I have no such fears. My reason for that? The Amazing Blue Fox (a friend of a friend of mine who goes by the name The Azure Guardian), true to her name, has been working to get the subbed episodes of GX put up somewhere that they can't be taken down. And so, it is my honor to announce that The Amazing Blue Fox, from this day forth, shall be a welcome guest of the Velvet Room with full access to its services! I hope this can express my thanks.**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or the Shin Megami Tensei franchise. I DO, however, own my OC's Akasaka Kazuma, Akasaka Naomi, Fuuchoin Chiyu, and Tachibana Mamoru. I also own the Persona and Digital Devil archetypes, while The Azure Guardian owns the Sengoku archetype.**_

* * *

Kazuma awoke to the all too familiar sight of the place known as the Velvet Room. The blue velvet-covered classroom brought back memories of the last time he was here, when he had first entered the Velvet Room. And as Kazuma expected, Igor was sitting in the same place as before and Samantha was still in her spot next to Igor.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room, my boy." Igor said as he looked up and saw Kazuma sitting at the student's desk across from him.

"Not this place again…" Kazuma said with a sigh.

"Fear not, you are fast asleep in your world while you are wide awake here. As I said last time we met, this place exists between the plains of dream and reality." Igor explained. "I have called you here for a reason."

"That reason being?" Kazuma asked.

"I have called you here because of your recent awakening." Igor replied. "The awakening of your power to be more precise."

"My power?" Kazuma asked. "You… know about it?" Igor didn't seem to notice the comment.

"Your ability to summon a Persona, that is. A Persona is a manifestation of your psyche, a façade of determination that you wear, much like a mask that protects you as you endure life's hardships." Igor explained. "Another way to think of it is -" Igor stopped as he saw Kazuma slam his fist on the desk.

"Get rid of it..." Kazuma said in a low voice, his head hung down.

"I beg your pardon?" Igor asked, finally responding directly to Kazuma.

"I said get rid of it!" Kazuma snapped as he looked Igor straight in the eye. "I never asked for this damn power! Do you have _any_ idea what I've been through because of it for the last ten years? How much I've _suffered_?"

"I see… You've used this power previously?" Samantha replied.

"You're damn _right_ I have! And because of that, Tou-san… a-and Kaa-san… t-they…!" Kazuma tried to get the words out, but couldn't as a sound he could never forget echoed in his head and his fist involuntarily tightened.

"Oh my…" Samantha said quietly.

"I… am sorry to say that I cannot do this." Igor explained. "I am not the one that granted you this power. Only the one who did so can take it away, but he has not made himself known for quite some time." Kazuma growled in frustration before he calmed himself down.

"Fine… Fine." He finally said. "So if I'm stuck with this power, what else can you tell me about it?"

"What amazes me is that it was Gemini who heeded your call, this is very interesting. As is the nature of your power, might I add."

"The 'nature' of my power?" Kazuma parroted.

"Ah yes, your Persona ability is different from most others. Different in the sense that it is special." Igor replied.

"What do you mean by 'special'?" Kazuma asked.

"Your power in particular is like the number zero; empty, yet it holds infinite possibilities within itself." Igor explained. "It is a rare thing indeed."

"Anything else?" Kazuma asked.

"You, my boy, can wield _multiple_ Personas and use them as you see fit." Igor continued. "However, your power is still weak."

"Eh?" Kazuma wondered.

"As you develop your Social Links, your emotional ties with others, your ability to create Personas will grow just as your bonds do. The power that these bonds grants you will allow you to overcome any ordeal." Samantha explained. "Our purpose is to facilitate that.

"My contribution is to aid in the creation of new Personas." Igor continued. "By taking multiple Persona cards, I can transmute them into a new form. This, in other words, is the fusion of Personas. When you defeat an enemy in battle, the seeds of opportunity will appear before you as cards. There _will_ be times when they are hard to grasp… but you must master your fear and reach out to them. Should you acquire new cards, please do not hesitate to bring them here."

Samantha then stepped forward and showed Kazuma the tome she carried.

"The tome you see here in my hand is the Persona Compendium." She explained. "Registering the Personas you've obtained in here will allow you to recall them at any point. Ah, and there's one more thing…" Samantha looked towards a third person in the room Kazuma had not noticed until now.

The person in question was an unfriendly-looking girl around his age with chin-length black hair, grey eyes and a slightly made-up face. She wore a sleeveless white shirt, black necktie with various safety pins, and a checkered skirt with a black belt that sported a gold heart-shaped buckle. Additionally, she wore red black-striped detached sleeves and white black-striped stockings paired with grey checkered boots. On her head she wore a blue officer's cap with a gold button and 'V' gravure.

"… Marie?" Samantha said, getting the girl's attention.

"Yeah I can hear. Nice to meet you." The unfriendly-looking girl responded with a sigh, turning to Kazuma for a second.

"Excuse her. This is Marie." Samantha cut in. "Her soul is still quite young, and-"

"Shut up! Don't tell him any more than you need to." Marie interrupted.

"… She may be… brusque at times, but please understand she is only an apprentice, and forgive her for her impoliteness." Samantha continued.

"Right…" Kazuma replied.

"Marie will be dealing with Skill Cards once you acquire them." Samantha explained. "Skill Cards will allow you to grant your Personas new powers." Kazuma nodded. Samantha then walked towards Kazuma and handed him a small blue key.

"What's this for?" he asked.

"You will need that to enter this room from now on." Igor answered. "Which, from this moment forward, will be of your own will. There is also something else that I would like to present you with…" As Igor held out one of his hands, a pair of cards materialized in it, covered in a bright light. When the glow subsided, it was revealed that Igor now held a pair of Duel Monsters cards, which he placed on the table, urging Kazuma to grab them.

"Uh… Thank you." Kazuma said as he looked over the cards' text.

"I hope that they will be beneficial to you in the future." Igor added. "But for now, I must let you go. Time marches on in your world. Until next time, my boy." And with that, Kazuma could feel his consciousness slipping away once more.

* * *

_[BGM - Traumerei, from Persona 4]_

The Persona Duelist slowly opened his eyes and found himself staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling and lying in an unfamiliar bed. Kazuma blinked a few times to adjust to the light and sat up.

"Oh you're awake." Kazuma heard a voice speak up. He turned to see a young woman walking into the room. The woman wore a white uniform with a raised collar, blue trimmings, and a blue miniskirt along with blue fingerless gloves, indicating she was from Obelisk Blue. Her lime green hair hung down to her waist and her blue eyes looked at Kazuma with concern.

"Uh… Where am I?" Kazuma inquired.

"The infirmary." She answered. "Your sister and I brought you here after I found the two of you in the forest."

"Ah…" Kazuma said before pausing. "Wait! Is my sister alright too?"

The woman nodded. "Yeah."

"How long was I out?"

"Well… About three days." The woman answered reluctantly.

"_Three days_?!" Kazuma repeated in alarm.

"Y-Yeah. Nobody could figure out what c-caused it." The woman replied with a slight stammer. "You just kept sleeping the whole time… Oh! Don't worry, the faculty already knows about it." Kazuma calmed down somewhat.

"So… how did you find the two of us?" Kazuma asked.

"I… was out walking to get some air and I found your sister kneeling next to you while you were unconscious." The woman explained. Kazuma nodded, but still had questions he knew were likely unanswerable. "You know, she really cares about you."

"Eh? Naomi?" Kazuma asked. The woman nodded before gesturing to a chair not too far from the bed Kazuma was currently in, revealing that Naomi was sleeping in the chair.

"She's hardly ever left this place. She told me that she wanted to make sure she was here when you woke up." The woman explained with a hint of interest in her voice. "I've come by here a few times too, and she's always sitting there waiting for you to wake up."

"Naomi…" Kazuma muttered.

"Ah… I should get going. I have a few things to attend to for the Student Council." The girl suddenly realized.

"Student Council?" Kazuma parroted. "They have that here?"

"Oh that's right. You're a first-year so you wouldn't have known right away. I'm the Student Council President, Fuuchoin Chiyu. I was elected at the end of last year." Chiyu explained.

"Ah. So you're a second-year, then?" Kazuma asked. Chiyu nodded. "I… guess you know this already, but I'm Akasaka Kazuma."

"Right. I'll be heading out for now. It was nice meeting you, Akasaka-san." Chiyu added before she walked off. After a minute or so, Kazuma looked down at his palms before closing his hands into tight fists.

'_Dammit! Why did _it_ have to appear again?!' _Kazuma shouted in his head. _'Why…?'_ Kazuma sighed in annoyance before he pushed it to the back of his mind.

"Hey… Naomi…" Kazuma said as he sat on the edge of the bed and gently nudged his sister from her place in the chair. The red-haired girl began to stir slightly.

"Ani…ki…?" Naomi asked groggily as she opened her eyes. As she saw Kazuma, a smile formed on her face. "Aniki!" Naomi immediately stood up and hugged her brother tightly while tears began to fall from her eyes. "I'm glad that you're okay…! I was so worried that…!"

"It's alright Naomi… I'm fine." Kazuma reassured his sister. "But…" Naomi looked up at the Persona Duelist in confusion. "… Why didn't you run…?"

"Huh?" Naomi wondered.

"Why didn't you run?" Kazuma repeated.

"I-I… I wanted to make sure you were alright." Naomi replied.

"Don't be stupid…" Kazuma said harshly. "You should've just gotten out of there."

"But what about you, Aniki?" Naomi asked. "You could have-"

"I don't care if I die!" Kazuma interrupted, raising his voice. Naomi stared at her brother in surprise.

"Aniki! What are you saying?" Naomi questioned.

"Don't worry about my life…" Kazuma replied. "People like me don't deserve to live…"

"It wasn't your-" Naomi began.

"Yes it was!" Kazuma snapped. "You were there, you _saw_ the blood on my hands! _I'm_ the reason they're dead… It would be better for everyone if I died too… So I can finally atone for what I did…"

"Aniki… You can't…" Naomi said as tears welled in her eyes again. "I… I don't want you to die…!" She hugged her brother tightly again. "Promise me… Promise me you won't get yourself killed!"

'_She… really cares about me, doesn't she?'_ Kazuma wondered to himself. "Alright… I promise I won't die. You don't have to worry, Imouto..."

"Thank you…" Naomi said as she wiped her eyes and stepped back from her brother.

"You should get going." Kazuma said. "I bet class is gonna start soon."

"Right." The Digital Devil Duelist said with a slight smile as she walked out of the room. "You should get some rest too." Kazuma chuckled as his sister left the room.

* * *

Later that night, Fuuchoin Chiyu stood on a cliff on one of the edges of the island, looking out at the sea. She sharpened her senses as she heard footsteps behind her, turning to be greeted by the familiar face of a young man. The young man in question had short silver hair and icy blue eyes, wearing the Obelisk Blue boys' uniform.

"Oh, it's you." Chiyu greeted.

Tachibana Mamoru walked up next to Chiyu and stared out at the sea.

"How'd your training go last night?" Mamoru asked.

"It went well." Chiyu replied. "I think I'm starting to get the hang of using it."

"That's good. Just make sure not to overdo it at first." Mamoru said. "It takes a lot of stamina to use a Persona when you're still learning the ropes." Chiyu nodded.

"There's something else though…" she trailed off.

"Hm?" Mamoru wondered.

"While I was in the forest near the Ra Dorm…" Chiyu explained. "… I found another Persona-User." Mamoru raised a brow in surprise and interest.

"Is that so?" he queried.

"He'd just Awakened when I found him." Chiyu continued. "It was one of the first-year Ra students, Akasaka Kazuma."

"_Him_? The guy with the **Persona** deck?" Mamoru asked in shock. Chiyu nodded. "Well… I thought there was something odd about his cards... This just makes things even more interesting."

"Why are you _always_ like this, Mamoru-kun?" Chiyu asked with a sigh.

"I don't know." Mamoru answered with a chuckle as he looked back towards the main building of the academy. "I guess I'm just eager to learn the secrets of _that_ place." Chiyu looked at her companion, understanding what he meant.

"Do you think he could be worth recruiting?" Chiyu asked.

"Not sure… I think we'll have to test that." Mamoru replied. "You think you could duel him and see if that skill of his is real?"

"You want to see if he could be a good rival." Chiyu stated in a knowing tone. Mamoru chuckled.

"Maybe, but I want to see if he can also be a good asset." he added.

* * *

Emi Ayukawa, the head nurse at Duel Academia, told Kazuma he was able to leave the infirmary and resume his normal class schedule the following day. He left the infirmary around the same time classes would have ended for the day, and decided to go back to his dorm. Along the way, he saw two familiar Osiris boys as he walked past them.

"Hey! Kazuma!" Judai called out to the Persona Duelist. Kazuma turned his head to see Judai and Sho running up to him.

"Judai, Sho…" Kazuma greeted before he continued walking.

"What happened to you?" Sho asked the Ra boy.

"Yeah, we heard you were in the infirmary for a few days." Judai added with his normal casual grin.

"I… uh…" Kazuma began.

"Hey! Aniki!" Kazuma heard a third voice call him. He turned once again to see Naomi running up to him, a smile on her face. Walking next to her was Misawa, who waved at his fellow Ra.

"Naomi." Kazuma greeted as his sister stopped in front of him. "How are you feeling? Any better?" Kazuma nodded.

"Yeah. I just needed to rest for a few days, I guess." he answered with a shrug.

"So what happened that got you sent to the infirmary?" Misawa spoke up.

"I… uh… ended up getting sick and I collapsed." Kazuma lied. "B-But I'm a lot better now." Misawa simply stared at his fellow Ra for a second.

"Well that's good." Sho said.

"So we'll be seeing ya' tomorrow then, right?" Judai asked.

"Yeah." Kazuma replied. "See you guys later." And with that, he began to walk back towards the Ra dorm. Naomi and Misawa followed behind after saying goodbye to the Osiris boys.

"Say, Akasaka-kun." Misawa spoke up. "You never _did_ tell me where you got those cards of yours." Kazuma looked at the intellectual Duelist and quietly sighed to himself.

"They… they were made by my parents." He replied.

"Ah. So your parents are card designers then?" Misawa wondered.

"Yeah. They work for Industrial Illusions as card designers." Kazuma explained. "They also made Naomi's **Digital Devil** cards."

"Did they have an interest in mythology by any chance?" Misawa asked. "I'm only wondering because I noticed a lot of parallels to various cultural and religious myths while watching both of you duel at the exams."

"Oh… Yeah." Kazuma answered, his voice getting slightly softer. this didn't go unnoticed by the other two Ras.

"Is something wrong?" Misawa asked. "Then again… I guess I _am_ asking you a lot of questions." He chuckled. "Sorry about that."

"... It's fine." Kazuma said as he picked up his pace, walking ahead of the other two.

"Kazuma?" Naomi wondered aloud.

"I'm… gonna go on ahead… I'll see you guys later..." Kazuma said before he began walking even faster.

"Oh! Akasaka-san!"

Kazuma stopped as he noticed a familiar Obelisk girl walking up to him.

"Huh? Oh. Miss President." Kazuma greeted. Naomi and Misawa had caught up with the Persona Duelist as well.

"H-How are you feeling?" the Student Council President asked. "I heard that you were cleared to leave today." Kazuma nodded.

"I'm feeling better now." he answered.

"In that case… W-Would you like to Duel?" the green-haired girl asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice that Kazuma found odd. The red-haired boy and the others raised a brow.

"You mean right now?" Kazuma queried.

"I-Is that a problem?" Chiyu asked.

"No. I'm just surprised." Kazuma replied. "I'll accept the challenge." Chiyu gave a friendly smile.

"That's good." she said as she motioned for the three Ras to follow her. "Let's go somewhere that's not in the way as much." Shrugging, Kazuma followed the Student Council President, with Misawa and Naomi following suit. After a couple of minutes, the group of four had arrived at the front of the Ra dorm. "This should be fine." With that, the Obelisk girl inserted her deck and activated the Academy-issued Duel Disk on her arm, with Kazuma activating his as well after inserting his deck as well.

"Good luck, Kazuma!" Naomi cheered. Kazuma looked at his sister and smiled slightly before turning to face Chiyu.

"DUEL!" Both Duelists shouted at once.

**Kazuma LP: 4000  
Chiyu LP: 4000**

"I'll go first! Boku no tan!" Kazuma said as he drew his sixth card. "I'll start off by summoning **Chariot Persona - Slime **in Defense mode!" The Monster that appeared on Kazuma's field was nothing more than a blob of greenish slime with a "mouth" and a pair of glowing red eyes.

**Chariot Persona - Slime  
LV 1  
Yami  
Demon/Effect  
ATK 100 / DEF [100]**

Then, I'll set a card face-down to end my turn." Kazuma concluded as a reversed card appeared on his field behind **Slime**. "Tan endo."

"Boku no tan!" Chiyu called as she began her turn. "I play the Permanent Magic, **Conquest War Banner**!" Chiyu played a Magic Card, which depicted the banner of an army from Feudal Japan flying through the air. "This let's me Special Summon a Level 4 or lower **Sengoku** Monster from my hand if I have no Monsters on my field!"

'_**Sengoku**__?' _Kazuma wondered. _'I've never heard of that archetype before...'_

"I Special Summon **Sengoku - Ieyasu Tokugawa**!" Chiyu announced. Appearing on Chiyu's field was a man with short black hair wearing a short, golden yellow vest with red trimmings over a black and gold-colored chestplate, exposing his midriff. He also wore baggy golden pants with silver designs on the legs and armor plates attached at the waistline, black boots, and a pair of black and gold-colored gauntlets. His left arm was covered by a black sleeve while his other arm was left bare.

**Sengoku – Ieyasu Tokugawa  
LV 4  
Hikari  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK [2000] / DEF 1500**

"A Monster with 2000 ATK already?" Naomi asked is surprise.

"Now I summon **Sengoku Army of Ieyasu **in Attack mode!" Chiyu continued as she played another Monster, calling forth a small group of soldiers wearing armor similar in coloring to **Ieyasu**.

**Sengoku Army of Ieyasu  
LV 2  
Hikari  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK [1200] / DEF 800**

"I activate **Ieyasu's** Monster effect!" Chiyu went on. "He gains 300 ATK for each **Army of Ieyasu **I control! And my **Army** also gains 300 ATK when I control **Ieyasu** due to its effect!" The soldiers let out a cheer for their leader, who in turn nodded at them, assuring them they would win the battle.

_[ Sengoku - Ieyasu Tokugawa, ATK: 2000-2300 ]  
[ Sengoku Army of Ieyasu, ATK: 1200-1500 ]_

"Now, **Ieyasu** attack your **Slime**!" Chiyu declared. "Providence Punch!" The golden-clad warrior ran forward as his right fist began to glow with energy. As he neared the green blob, he threw his fist forward, but even though it hit nothing but air, the power it generated was so great that a fierce wind blew in Kazuma's direction. However, to Chiyu's shock the green blob was unaffected by the attack.

"Huh? What's going on?" Chiyu questioned. "It should have been destroyed!"

"**Chariot Persona - Slime's **Monster effect." Kazuma stated. "It can't be destroyed by battle, and if I take battle damage from a battle it takes part in, that damage is halved." Chiyu gasped in surprise.

"He set up a wall…" Misawa realized. "It can't be destroyed by battle and damage he takes from it is halved. But if he places it into Defense mode… then his Life Points can't be touched!"

Chiyu thought for a moment before continuing. "I place a card face-down. Tan endo."

"Boku no tan!" Kazuma said as he began his turn. He looked over his hand and saw what he could use.

'_Perfect!' _He thought.

"I summon **Fool Persona - Obariyon** in Attack mode!" Kazuma announced as the small red demon from his entrance duel appeared.

**Fool Persona - Obariyon  
LV 2  
Chi  
Demon/Union  
ATK [300] / DEF 700**

"Then, I activate the Magic Card, **Dual Summon**! So now I'll Release **Obariyon** to Advance Summon **Hermit Persona - Hitokotonushi**!" Kazuma announced, summoning a green-skinned humanoid creature with a plate of what was presumably tan armor over its chest.

**Hermit Persona - Hitokotonushi  
LV 5  
Kaze  
Demon/Effect  
ATK [2200] / DEF 2200**

"**Hitokotonushi**, attack the **Army of Ieyasu**!" Kazuma commanded. The green-skinned demon raised its hand skyward, causing a bolt of lightning to come crashing down on the soldiers and kicking up a cloud of smoke.

**Kazuma LP: 4000  
Chiyu LP: 4000-3300**

When the smoke cleared, however, Chiyu was surprised to see that her Monster had survived.

"Huh?" She wondered aloud. "What happened? They should have been destroyed, right?"

"Not quite." Kazuma replied, confusing the Sengoku Duelist. "**Hitokotonushi's** Monster effect! When he attacks a Monster, instead of destroying it, he places a Silence Counter on it!" To signify this, a faint white aura had appeared around the soldiers.

"Okay. So what does that do?" Chiyu queried.

"A Monster with a Silence Counter has its effects negated while it's on the field." Kazuma explained, causing Chiyu to gasp as her Monster lost some power.

_[ Sengoku Army of Ieyasu, ATK: 1500-1200 ]_

"Incredible!" Misawa exclaimed. "If he can keep that card on the field, he won't have to worry about the effects of the President's Monsters! Those cards of his are truly something else."

"Yeah. My brother is definitely strong." Naomi added with a smile.

"I'll stop there." Kazuma concluded. "Tan endo."

"Boku no tan!" Chiyu said as she drew. "I summon **Sengoku - Fox Child **in Attack mode!"

As the Sengoku Duelist played the card, she summoned forth a small child with brown-auburn hair kept up in a small ponytail with a turquoise bow. He wore blue pants, a turquoise shirt patterned with leaves, and a tan vest with a thin black belt. The most distinguishing features, however, were his feet, which resembled those of a fox, the narrow pointed ears, and the cream-colored, fluffy fox tail.

**Sengoku – Fox Child  
LV 2  
Chi  
Beast-Warrior/Effect  
ATK [600] / DEF 100**

"**Fox Child**, attack his **Slime**!" Chiyu ordered. The small child ran across the field and went for the green blob. Suddenly, he began to glow, as did the **Chariot Persona**, and both vanished in an instant.

"Nani?!" Kazuma gasped.

"When **Fox Child **attacks a Monster, I can return both Monsters to the hand." Chiyu explained as she took **Fox Child** off of her Duel Disk, with Kazuma doing the same with **Slime**. "However, no damage is taken when this happens."

"Damn…" Kazuma muttered.

"**Ieyasu**, attack **Hitokotonushi**! Providence Punch!" Chiyu commanded, to which her Monster complied by delivering a strong punch at Kazuma's Monster, as it had before, shattering the **Hermit Persona **into pixels.

**Kazuma LP: 4000-3900  
Chiyu LP: 3300**

"**Army of Ieyasu **attacks you directly!" Chiyu continued as the soldiers rushed in and prepared to attack the Persona Duelist. Until…

"Trap Card open!" Kazuma announced as his set card rose, depicting a shadowy figure holding a tarot card covered in azure flames. "**Persona Invocation**! This card can only be activated when I would take damage from battle or a card effect, I can reduce that damage to 0!" The soldiers attack Kazuma, but he simply shrugged their efforts off as they retreated to their leader. "Then, I'm allowed to Special Summon a **Persona** Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck, but its ATK and DEF are halved until my next End Phase!" The Trap Card began to glow with an azure blue light. "I Special Summon **Star Persona - Neko Shogun**!"

Appearing from within the Trap Card, as its name would suggest, a small cat dressed like a typical shogun.

**Star Persona - Neko Shogun  
LV 6  
Chi  
Beast/Fusion/Effect  
ATK [2400-1200] / DEF 1900-950**

"**Neko Shogun's **Monster effect!" Kazuma added. "While he remains on the field, all **Persona** Monsters gain 400 ATK!" Neko Shogun glowed briefly as his power increased.

_[ Star Persona - Neko Shogun, ATK: 1200-1600 ]_

"I see…" Chiyu muttered. "I'll finish there with a facedown. Tan endo."

"Boku no tan!" Kazuma declared as he drew. He looked at what he had and nodded to himself. "I activate the Magic Card, **Persona Fusion - Line Spread**!"

"Here it comes… His Fusion Summon..." Misawa mused.

Kazuma held up a card in his hand while another card slid out near the top of his Deck. Holding both cards for everyone to see, they were revealed to be Monster Cards. "I fuse **Devil Persona - Lilim **from my hand and **Hierophant Persona - Anzu** from my Deck!"

Two new Monsters appeared above Kazuma. One was a young woman with medium-length dark brown hair and wore some rather revealing white clothing, while the other was a blue-feathered creature with the body of an eagle and the orange-maned head of a lion. Both Monsters then flew up to the newly-created arcane circle made of azure light, and turned into a pair of gold-framed cards as a burst of light filled the area.

"_King Frost tsukure! Rain no Yugo!" _Kazuma called as a new Monster descended onto the field. The Monster in question was a metallic being whose overall shape made it look like an old England king or noble, with a white face and a smile that showed his lack of teeth in his mouth, having only a single pointed tooth. In his hands the Monster carried a scepter tipped with what looked like an ice cream cone.

**Emperor Persona - King Frost  
LV 6  
Mizu  
Magician/Fusion/Effect  
ATK [2400] / DEF 1000**

"**Neko Shogun's **Monster effect increases **King Frost's **ATK by 400!" Kazuma reminded.

_[ Emperor Persona - King Frost, ATK: 2400-2800 ]_

"Due to using a Monster from my Deck as Fusion Material, I'm not allowed to Normal Summon a Monster this turn." Kazuma informed. "So, I activate **King Frost's **Monster effect! Once per turn I can Special Summon **Magician Persona - Jack Frost **or **Magician Persona - Pyro Jack** from my hand!"

Kazuma took a card from his hand and placed it on his Duel Disk. "I Special Summon **Magician Persona - Jack Frost**!" Appearing on the field was a small, plump snowman wearing a deep blue jester's cap and blue boots. Much like **King Frost**, he had a wide smile on his face, showing his solitary tooth.

**Magician Persona - Jack Frost  
LV 3  
Mizu  
Magician/Effect  
ATK [1300] / DEF 1000**

"And if I control **Jack Frost**, I'm allowed to Special Summon **Magician Persona - Pyro Jack** from my hand!" Kazuma placed yet another card onto his Duel Disk, summoning forth a floating pumpkin head wearing a pointed hat, while a black cloak and white gloves floated where a torso and hands should be, one of the gloves carrying a lantern.

**Magician Persona - Pyro Jack  
LV 3  
Hono  
Magician/Effect  
ATK [1300] / DEF 1000**

Both Jacks then received a power boost from **Neko Shogun**.

_[ Magician Persona - Jack Frost, ATK: 1300-1700 ]  
[ Magician Persona - Pyro Jack, ATK: 1300-1700 ]_

"Wow." Chiyu remarked. "You really are a strong Duelist, aren't you?"

'_Mamoru-kun might have been right about him after all...'_

"Thank you." Kazuma said as he smirked somewhat. "**King Frost**, attack **Ieyasu**!" The king complied as he pointed his scepter at the golden-clad warlord, causing a spike of ice to shoot up from beneath the warrior and impale him, shattering him into pixels.

**Kazuma LP: 3900  
Chiyu LP: 3300-2800**

"**Neko Shogun**, attack the **Army of Ieyasu**!" Kazuma commanded. The cat shogun's eyes glowed from underneath its helmet, and a bolt of electricity shot down from the sky, destroying the group of soldiers instantly.

**Kazuma LP: 3900  
Chiyu LP: 2800-2400**

"Now I'll attack you directly with **Pyro Jack**!" Kazuma said. The floating jack-o-lantern shot a fireball from its lantern which sped towards the Sengoku Duelist.

"Trap Card open! **Attack Nullification**!" Chiyu declared as he set card rose and created a barrier around her, dispelling the attack. "This card negates your attack and ends the Battle Phase!"

"Damn…" Kazuma muttered. "Okay then. I activate **Persona Skill - Sharp Student**!" Kazuma's Magic Card depicted a duelist drawing cards covered in azure flames. "I can only activate this card while I have at least 2 **Persona** Monsters on my field. Now I can draw 2 cards for each Fusion Monster among them, but I can't conduct my Draw Phase on my next turn." Kazuma then drew 4 cards, due to having 2 Fusion Monsters on his field.

"That deck of his is incredibly diverse." Misawa mused.

"A lot more diverse than you think, actually." Naomi added, though Misawa was unsure of what she meant.

"I set two cards face-down. Tan endo." Kazuma concluded.

"Boku no tan!" Chiyu called out as she drew her card. "I activate the Magic Card, **Dual Summon**!" So for my two Normal Summons, I'll summon **Sengoku - Onmyouji Boy **and **Sengoku - Onmyouji Girl**!"

As Chiyu placed the two cards on her Duel Disk, a pair of Monsters materialized. One was a teenage boy with short dark brown hair and brown eyes, wearing a white collared shirt, blue tie, a pair of tan pants, and dark dress shoes. The second Monster was similar, but instead was a teenage girl with short black hair and brown eyes, wearing a white blouse with a cream-colored vest, a blue ribbon around her neck, a tan skirt, knee-high socks and dark-colored loafers. Both Monsters stared at the opposition, ready for battle.

**Sengoku – Onmyouji Boy  
LV 4  
Hikari  
Magician/Effect  
ATK [1500] / DEF 1100**

**Sengoku – Onmyouji Girl  
LV 4  
Hikari  
Magician/Effect  
ATK [1500] / DEF 1100**

"_**I'm glad you were able to summon us this time, Chiyu-chan." **_**Onmyouji Girl **greeted her partner.

"_**Yeah. We'll try to help any way we can." **_**Onmyouji Boy **added.

Chiyu nodded to her Spirit Partners. "Next, I activate a second copy of **Gathering Forces**! So now, I'll Special Summon two copies of **Sengoku Army of Kenshin**!" Appearing on the field was two small groups of soldiers wearing light blue and white battle attire.

**Sengoku Army of Kenshin (x2)  
LV 3  
Mizu  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK [1300] / DEF 1200**

"Oh man…" Naomi commented. "She's going for a swarm tactic…"

"..." Misawa remained silent as he thought everything over.

"Let me guess, they gain 300 ATK for being together, right?" Kazuma asked. Chiyu nodded.

_[ Sengoku Army of Kenshin, ATK: 1300-1600 ] (x2)_

"Now I activate the Monster effects of both **Onmyouji Boy **and **Onmyouji Girl**!" Chiyu continued. "They can add their ATK to another Monster on my field, as long as that Monster isn't an **Onmyouji** Monster!"

"N-Nani?!" Kazuma gasped.

'_They both have 1500 ATK, so she'll more than likely boost those __**Armies of Kenshin **__and then attack...' _Kazuma thought.

"The downside is that my two **Onmyouji** Monsters won't be able to attack this turn, but it won't be a problem." Chiyu added as the teenagers began to glow, transferring their power to the other **Sengoku** Monsters.

_[ Sengoku Army of Kenshin, ATK: 1600-3100 ] (x2)_

"3100 ATK each?!" Naomi gasped in surprise.

"The **Army of Kenshin** on the left will attack **Neko Shogun**!" Chiyu commanded. The soldiers gave a battle cry as they charged forward and attacked the **Star Persona**, shattering it into pixels. And with the departure of the **Persona**, Kazuma's other Monsters lost some power.

**Kazuma LP: 3900-2400  
Chiyu LP: 2400**

_[ Magician Persona - Jack Frost, ATK: 1700-1300 ]  
[ Magician Persona - Pyro Jack, ATK: 1700-1300 ]  
[ Emperor Persona - King Frost, ATK: 2800-2400 ]_

"And now the other **Army of Kenshin **will attack **Jack Frost**!" Chiyu continued as the rest of the soldiers rushed forward.

"Trap Card open!" Kazuma declared. "**Persona Skill - Counter**! When my opponent declares an attack on one of my Monsters, I can negate the attack and destroy that Monster!" Just as the soldiers were about to strike the plump snowman, a clear glass-like barrier appeared and repelled the small army, shattering them into pixels in the process.

"Hm… I set a card face-down. Tan endo." Chiyu stated.

"Boku no tan!" Kazuma said as he drew. As he looked at the card in his hand, Igor's words echoed in his head.

* * *

**(Flashback)**

"_There is also something else that I would like to present you with…" As Igor held out one of his hands, a pair of cards materialized in it, covered in a bright light. When the glow subsided, it was revealed that Igor now held a pair of Duel Monsters cards, which he placed on the table, urging Kazuma to grab them._

"_Uh… Thank you." Kazuma said as he looked over the cards' text._

"_I hope that they will be beneficial to you in the future." Igor added. "But for now, I must let you go. Time marches on in your world. Until next time, my boy." _

**(Flashback End)**

* * *

"Looks like I get to test those out…" Kazuma muttered to himself as he held out the new card. "I activate the Magic Card, **Aria of the Soul**! This lets me add **The Room of Velvet **from my Deck to my hand!"

"Huh?" Naomi wondered.

"Something wrong?" Misawa asked.

"No. It's just… Kazuma never had those cards in his deck before." Naomi answered with interest in her voice.

"Is that so?" Misawa wondered aloud as the Persona Duelist added a card from the middle of his deck to his hand.

"And now, I'll activate it!" the red-haired boy continued as the Field Magic slot opened up on his Duel Disk. After the card was placed inside and the slot closed up again, the environment changed to a place that Kazuma was familiar with, but the others, needless to say, were unaware of where they were. After the change was complete, Kazuma was standing in front of the small table Igor normally sat at, with the couch just behind him.

"Interesting Field Magic." Chiyu remarked. "So, what does it do?"

"While this Field Magic is activated, **Personas** cannot be destroyed by card effects." Kazuma explained. "But I'm also allowed to activate one of two effects once a turn. By activating the second effect, I can add a **Persona Fusion** Magic Card, and a **Persona** that was used as Fusion Material, from my Cemetery to my hand!"

"He can recycle cards used in Fusion!" Misawa realized.

"I'll add **Persona Fusion - Line Spread **and **Hierophant Persona - Anzu **from my Cemetery to my hand." Kazuma announced as he added the aforementioned cards back to his hand. "Next, I summon **Hierophant Persona - Anzu** in Defense mode!" On cue, the blue-feathered creature appeared on the field.

**Hierophant Persona - Anzu  
LV 4  
Kaze  
Winged-Beast/Effect  
ATK 1000 / DEF [1600]**

"And now, I activate **Persona Fusion - Line Spread**!" Kazuma said as he played the Magic Card once more. "With it, I'll fuse the **Magician Persona - Pyro Jack** and **Emperor Persona - King Frost** on my field!"

As the two Personas flew up to the fusion circle, they transformed into a pair of gold-framed cards, as per usual with Kazuma's Fusion Summonings.

"_Gemini tsukure! Rain no Yugo!" _Kazuma shouted as he closed his raised fist and a flash of bluish light blanketed the field. As the light faded, the Monster that stood where the other two Personas once were was none other than Kazuma's own Persona, Gemini of the Fool Arcana.

**Fool Persona - Gemini  
LV 5  
Hikari  
Warrior/Fusion/Effect  
ATK [2300] / DEF 1300**

Naomi gasped softly as she saw the Persona appear, not noticing that Misawa had heard, yet didn't question it.

"**Fool Persona - Gemini's **Monster effect activates!" Kazuma announced. "When he's Fusion Summoned, he gains 300 ATK for each non-Fool **Persona** I control! I control **Hierophant Persona - Anzu **and **Magician Persona - Jack Frost**, so **Gemini** gains 600 ATK!"

_[ Fool Persona - Gemini, ATK: 2300-2900 ]_

"But it still isn't enough for you to take out my **Armies of Kenshin**." Chiyu pointed out. Kazuma smirked.

"I activate **Fool Persona - Gemini's **Monster effect!" KAzuma announced. "I have two effects that I can activate once a turn! So by activating the first effect, I can grant one Monster on my field 1000 ATK and DEF for the rest of the turn."

"No way!"Chiyu gasped.

_[ Fool Persona - Gemini, ATK: 2900-3900 ]_

"He can take out one of those Monsters now." Misawa noted.

"But it'll still leave Miss President with 1600 Life Points left." Naomi added.

"That's why I'm going after **Onmyouji Boy**!" Kazuma chimed in. "**Gemini**, attack **Onmyouji Boy **with Zio!" The Fool Persona raised its hand skyward before a bolt of lightning came down from the heavens to strike the **Sengoku** Monster.

"Trap Card open!" **Protective Light**!" Chiyu countered as her set card rose, depicting **Onmyouji Boy **and** Onmyouji Girl **creating a barrier of light. "I can only activate this if I control at least 1 **Onmyouji** Monster! This prevents my cards from being destroyed this turn, and any damage I would take becomes 0!" A barrier of light formed around Chiyu's field, protecting her Monsters.

"Counter Trap, open! **Trap Jammer**!" Kazuma countered. Chiyu gasped as the thunderbolt pierced right through the shield, shattering it like glass before striking down the brown-haired Monster.

**Kazuma LP: 2400** (winner)**  
Chiyu LP: 2400-0**

Chiyu smiled as the holograms vanished and each duelist;s Duel Disk deactivated.

"That was a good duel, Akasaka-kun." Chiyu complimented as the two duelists approached one another.

"You're not half-bad yourself, Miss President." Kazuma replied, a smile of his own creeping onto his face. A very faint redness appeared on Chiyu's cheeks.

"I hope we can do this again sometime." the **Sengoku** duelist added as she turned to walk off, keeping her composure. "See you later, Akasaka-kun!" Kazuma nodded as the Student Council President walked off.

_**SMASH!**_

Kazuma blinked as he saw a tarot card covered in azure flames materializing in front of him. The card had a blue frame around the edging and the face depicted a figure sitting in a chariot being pulled along by two animals resembling lions. At the bottom of the framing was the Roman numeral for seven.

"_**Thou art I… I am thou…" **_An ominous voice resounded within Kazuma's mind. _**"Thou hast established a new bond… It unveils thy inner strength. Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Chariot Arcana…" **_The voice then faded as the card shattered into a mass of blue stardust which settled over the red-haired boy. The duelist blinked once again as he turned to face his sister and Misawa.

"That was an interesting duel, needless to say." Misawa commented. "I'm mostly surprised that you challenged the Student Council President and won."

"I'm a bit surprised myself, I guess." Kazuma added as he chuckled. "Well, should we head inside then?"

"Sounds good." Misawa replied as the two Ra boys began walking inside the dorm. Naomi simply watched as her brother walked off before following behind.

'_Aniki...' _she thought. _'You may not have realized it yet, but you've managed to make a new friend after so long… Maybe Duel Academia was a good idea after all...'_

The female Akasaka smiled as she hurried to catch up with her brother and dorm mate as the trio entered the Ra dorm.

* * *

_**And another one done!**_

_**Anyways, sorry about the delay on these. School is kinda kicking my ass right now, so I've been busy with that. But either way, I was able to find some time to get this done, so it's all good.**_

_**Now here are the new cards!**_

* * *

_Featured Cards:_

_**Persona Skill - Sharp Student  
Normal Magic Card**_  
Activate only when you control at least 2 face-up "Persona" Monsters. Draw 2 cards for each Fusion Monster you control. You cannot conduct your Draw Phase on your next turn.

_**Aria of the Soul  
Normal Magic Card**_  
Add 1 "The Room of Velvet" from your Deck to your hand.

_**The Room of Velvet  
Field Magic Card**_  
All "Persona" Monsters you control cannot be destroyed by card effects. Once per turn: Activate 1 of the following effects;  
● Add 1 "Persona Fusion" Magic Card from your Deck to your hand.  
● Target 1 "Persona Fusion" Magic Card, and 1 "Persona" Fusion Material Monster that was used for a Fusion Summon in your Cemetery, and add them to your hand.

_**Persona Invocation  
Normal Trap Card**_  
When you would take damage (either through battle or an opponent's card effect): Reduce the damage you would take to 0, then Special Summon 1 Level 6 or lower "Persona" Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck or Cemetery (This Special Summon is treated as a Fusion Summon). The Special Summoned Monster's ATK and DEF are halved until your next End Phase. You cannot Fusion Summon another "Persona" Fusion Monster until your next turn.

_**Star Persona - Neko Shogun  
LV 6  
Chi  
Beast/Fusion/Effect  
ATK 2400 / DEF 1900  
Fusion Materials - "Chariot Persona - Ara Mitama" + "Temperance Persona - Nigi Mitama" + "Lovers Persona - Saki Mitama" + "Strength Persona - Kusi Mitama"  
**_Effect - This card cannot be destroyed (either through Battle or card effect) by Hikari or Yami-Attribute Monsters. While this card is face-up on the field, all "Persona" Monsters you control gain 400 ATK.

_**Emperor Persona - King Frost  
LV 6  
Mizu  
Magician/Fusion/Effect  
ATK 2400 / DEF 1000  
Fusion Materials - "Devil Persona - Lilim" + "Hierophant Persona - Anzu"**_  
Effect - This card cannot be destroyed by battle with a Mizu-Attribute Monster, and you gain Life Points equal to the damage you would take from that battle. Once per turn, you can Special Summon 1 "Magician Persona - Jack Frost" or "Magician Persona - Pyro Jack" from your hand in face-up Attack Position.

_**Magician Persona - Jack Frost  
LV 3  
Mizu  
Magician/Effect  
ATK 1300 / DEF 1000**_  
Effect - If you control a face-up "Magician Persona - Pyro Jack": You can Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card is face-up on the field while you control "Magician Persona - Pyro Jack", you can add 1 "Mix Raid - Best Friends" from your Deck to your hand.

_**Magician Persona - Pyro Jack  
LV 3  
Hono  
Magician/Effect  
ATK 1300 / DEF 1000**_  
Effect - If you control a face-up "Magician Persona - Jack Frost": You can Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card is face-up on the field while you control "Magician Persona - Jack Frost", you can add 1 "Mix Raid - Best Friends" from your Deck to your hand.

_**Hierophant Persona - Anzu  
LV 4  
Kaze  
Winged Beast/Effect  
ATK 1600 / DEF 1000  
**_Effect - This card cannot be destroyed by Battle with a Kaze-Attribute Monster, and any damage you would take from that Battle is reduced to 0. If this card is targeted for an attack, you can negate that attack once per turn.

_**Hermit Persona - Hitokotonushi**_  
_**LV 5**_  
_**Kaze**_  
_**Demon/Effect**_  
_**ATK 2200 / DEF 2200**_  
Effect - At the end of the Damage Step, if this card attacked a Monster: You can place 1 Silence Counter on that Monster (max. 1). A Monster with a Silence Counter on it has its effects negated for as long as it remains face-up on the field.

_**Devil Persona - Lilim**_ (mentioned)_**  
LV 2  
Yami  
Demon/Effect  
ATK 800 / DEF 800  
**_Effect - Once per turn, you can inflict 400 damage to your opponent for each "Devil Persona" Monster you control.

_**Fool Persona - Gemini  
LV 5  
Hikari  
Thunder/Fusion/Effect  
ATK 2300 / DEF 1300  
Materials - 1 "Persona" Monster + 1 "Persona" Fusion Monster  
**_Effect - When this card is Fusion Summoned, it gains 300 ATK for each non-"Fool Persona" Monster you control. You can activate each of the following effects once per turn:  
● Target 1 "Persona" Monster you control; that Monster gains 1000 ATK and DEF until the End Phase.  
● You can reduce the battle damage you take from a battle involving a Fusion Monster you control to 0.

* * *

_**(Above cards were created by me, while inspiration of these cards is courtesy of Atlus)**_

* * *

_**Sengoku Army of Ieyasu**_  
_**LV 2**_  
_**Hikari**_  
_**Warrior/Effect**_  
_**ATK 1200 / DEF 800**_  
Effect - Increase this card's ATK and DEF by 300 for each face-up "Sengoku Army of Ieyasu" you control (excluding this card). Increase this card's ATK and DEF by 300 if you control a face-up "Sengoku – Ieyasu Tokugawa".

**_Sengoku – Ieyasu Tokugawa_**  
**_LV 4_**  
**_Hikari_**  
**_Warrior/Effect_**  
**_ATK 2000 / DEF 1500_**  
Effect - Increase the ATK and DEF of this card by 300 for each face-up "Sengoku Army of Ieyasu" you control. Increase the ATK and DEF of this card by 300 if you control a face-up "Sengoku – Shingen Takeda".

**_Sengoku Army of Kenshin_**  
**_LV 3_**  
**_Mizu_**  
**_Warrior/Effect_**  
**_ATK 1300 / DEF 1200_**  
Effect - Increase the ATK and DEF of this card by 300 for each face-up "Sengoku Army of Kenshin" you control (excluding this card). Increase the ATK and DEF of this card by 300 if you control a face-up "Sengoku – Kenshin Uesugi".

**_Sengoku – Fox Child_**  
**_LV 2_**  
**_Chi_**  
**_Beast-Warrior/Effect_**  
**_ATK 600 / DEF 100_**  
Effect - At the start of the Damage Step, if this card battles an opponent's Monster - You can return both Monsters to the hand (without damage calculation).

_**Sengoku – Onmyouji Boy**_  
_**LV 4**_  
_**Hikari**_  
_**Magician/Effect**_  
_**ATK 1500 / DEF 1100**_  
Effect - Once per turn, you can increase the ATK of 1 Monster you control (excluding "Onmyouji" Monsters) by the ATK of this card. This card cannot attack on the turn you use this effect.

_**Sengoku – Onmyouji Girl**_  
_**LV 4**_  
_**Hikari**_  
_**Magician/Effect**_  
_**ATK 1500 / DEF 1100**_  
Effect - Once per turn, you can increase the ATK of 1 Monster you control (excluding "Onmyouji" Monsters) by the ATK of this card. This card cannot attack on the turn you use this effect.

_**Conquest War Banner**_  
_**Permanent Magic Card**_  
Effect - If there are no face-up Monsters on your side of the field, you can Special Summon 1 "Sengoku" Monster (from your hand).

**_Gathering Forces_**  
**_Normal Magic Card_**  
If you control a face-up "Sengoku" Monster, you can Special Summon up to 2 "Sengoku Army" Monster from your hand. You cannot Special Summon other Monsters this turn.

_**Protective Light**_  
_**Normal Trap Card**_  
Effect - This card can only be activated if you control at least 1 face-up "Onmyouji" Monster. Cards you control cannot be destroyed and you take no damage this turn.

* * *

_**(Above cards were created by The Azure Guardian, with the exception of "Gathering Forces", which is my creation)**_

* * *

**GX Dictionary:**

Persona: The physical manifestation of an individual's psyche. A Persona is the reflection of a person's innermost thoughts and feelings. They are Shadows that have been tamed by a person's ego.

* * *

_**And there we go folks, hope you enjoyed the chapter! And as always, don't forget to read and review. I look forward to getting feedback.**_

_**Also… I have yet another story in the works, and as you'd expect, it's another Yu-Gi-Oh! story. As for what it is, you'll have to wait on that.**_

_**Anyways, Master of the Wild Card signing out!**_


	5. Turn 4

**Per-So-Na! GX: Eleven Stars**

**Turn 4**

_**Happy (late) New Year everyone! And welcome back to Per-So-Na! GX!**_

_**Now I know I said I'd be updating as much as I could, but… a few things kinda complicated that… More specifically I finally got my hands on a PS Vita and P4 Golden, so I've been playing the hell out of that since Christmas. Granted… it's not entirely bad that I spent most of my break doing that. Why, you ask? Well I'll only say that it's for this story and my non-crossover Persona fic that I'll get around to updating eventually once I get my plans for it straightened out.**_

_**Also, I'd like to remind you all that I'm still willing to take some OC's if any of you are interested in submitting one. I'd only need one Shadow Rider OC and then any other submissions would most likely be one-off cameos for the purpose of filler chapters and duels for the already-existing OC's. If you want to send me one, then feel free to PM me, and **__**don't**__** send it in a review. I'll supply you with the template for the character.**_

_**Anyways, I'll let you guys get to the chapter now.**_

_**Disclaimer: Same thing.**_

* * *

The days following Kazuma's duel against Chiyu had gone well at Duel Academia, aside from the normal practice of the elitist Obelisk Blue students taunting and harassing the Osiris Red students.

Today, however, a small naval force and a fleet of helicopters were on route to the island housing the school...

"Aerial Escort 2260 Eagle, here," said a man from inside one of the helicopters over the radio. "We'll be converging with them in three minutes."

"Roger, Eagle," another man's voice responded over the radio. "The main ship has acquired the target in visual range. 8030, preparing to land."

"All ships re-enter alert status! We must protect this…" a man from inside the main ship announced over the radio as he held a briefcase with the Duel Academia logo on it in his hand while also having it handcuffed to his wrist. "…no matter what! Prepare for landing!"

On that order, the fleet of helicopters and ships began making their landing procedures for Duel Academia Island.

* * *

At the Ra Yellow dorm, Kazuma was currently sleeping peacefully in his room as a knock sounded at the door.

"Aniki, it's time to wake up," the voice of Naomi spoke up from the other side of the door. She knocked again. "Hey, Aniki!"

Kazuma began to stir in his bed, groaning sleepily.

"Eh…? Naomi?" Kazuma said groggily as he rose up from his bed and looked around the  
room, hearing the knocking on his door. He hastily got up out of bed and unlocked his door before opening it.

"Good morning, Aniki," the female Akasaka greeted.

"Morning." Kazuma said as he slowly began to wake up. Naomi giggled.

"Well I see that you're just now waking up, so I'll wait out here until you're ready. But don't be too slow. We have the promotion exams today, remember?" Naomi added. Kazuma nodded.

"Yeah, I remember." he said with a shrug. "That's why I asked you to make sure I was up." He closed the door to his room and quickly got dressed. Afterwards, he grabbed his deck and left his room, where Naomi was still waiting for him. The Akasaka twins then decided to head out.

* * *

After entering the school building, Kazuma and Naomi made their way to Daitokuji-sensei's classroom where the written portion of the first-year's promotional exams was taking place. Upon entering the classroom, the twins picked up a copy of the test from the Osiris dorm leader, and went to their seats where they waited for the test to begin. Just minutes before the test was supposed to start, Kazuma spotted Sho running into the room and out of breath.

"I made it," Sho said, panting heavily as the Osiris boy tried to catch his breath before running down the stairs to pick up a copy of the test from Daitokuji and then going back up to his seat.

Over the next 30 minutes, everyone had been working on the written test, but Sho had managed to fall asleep.

"Unforgivable! Absolutely unforgivable!" a familiar voice berated Sho, jolting the small Osiris from his sleep. "There's no point in studying to the bone just to doze off, you jerk!"

"B-Big Bro…" Sho stuttered embarrassingly.

"You're being a pest, Osiris Red! Shut your trap!" Manjoume told Judai off, standing up from his seat. "If you don't plan on taking the test, then beat it!"

"Quit joking around! I came all this way!" Judai yelled back at the Obelisk. "You think I'm just gonna go back?!"

"Yuki Judai-kun, come down here and get a testing sheet-nya!" Daitokuji called out to the late Osiris, causing Judai to tense in embarrassment. "There's not much time left-nya."

"Yes, sir!" Judai turned around and called back down to the professor before making his way down the stairs to grab his test.

As the brown-haired teen made his way back to his seat though, several students were making snide and hateful remarks in their heads towards the E-HERO Duelist, including other Osiris Red students. It didn't help when both Judai and Sho fell asleep for the remainder of the test, annoying the other students around them. After a while…

"The written test has now ended!" Daitokuji informed the students. "In addition, the practical skills test will take place in the gymnasium at 2:00 PM!"

As soon as the bell rung, the majority of the students burst out of the classroom and stampeded through the hallways, leaving Judai, Sho, Kazuma, Naomi, and Misawa in the room with the two male Ra's trying to wake up the sleeping Osiris students.

"Hey, you two! Wake up!" Misawa said as he shook Sho.

"The test is over, guys! You can stop sleeping!" Kazuma added as he shook Judai.

Sho jolted up, now wide awake, with streams of tears falling from his eyes, "Now I've done it… why did I even study?"

Judai raised his head up with a sly grin on his face, "Don't sweat it. The skills test this afternoon is where it counts."

"That doesn't mean you can just brush off everything else," Naomi said. "If you need help studying we can always give you a hand."

"Maybe."

As Judai put his head back down, Sho looked around the room to see everyone else was already gone, "Huh? Where is everyone?"

"Is it lunchtime already?" Judai asked, quickly getting up from his seat.

"They're at the store," Misawa answered.

"Ah, right. A bunch of rare cards were coming in today for the practical test, weren't they," Kazuma recalled.

"That's right. It's a pretty large shipment, too," Misawa said with a nod.

"H-Huh!? A large shipment of cards!?" Sho practically shouted in surprise.

"Everyone went down there to buy some, trying to reinforce their decks for the practical skills test this afternoon," Misawa explained.

"W-What about you, Misawa-kun?" Sho asked.

"I'm confident in my deck as it is. I don't need any new cards," Misawa answered.

"You gonna head down there, Kazuma?" Judai asked.

"Eh… I'll pass. Like Misawa, I have faith in my deck for this test," Kazuma said as he lightly patted his deck holder. "What about you?"

"I'm really interested!" Judai answered enthusiastically with a big, eager smile on his face. "I've just gotta see what kind of cards they've got! Let's go, Sho!"

"Mm-hmm!" Sho nodded in agreement as he and Judai ran out of the classroom and made their way to the card shop.

There was a moment of awkward silence once the two Osiris students left until Misawa broke the silence, "So… What are you two planning to do before the test?"

"Hm?" Kazuma hummed, turning his eyes to Misawa. "Oh, I wasn't really going to do anything… just wait around I guess."

"Same here." Naomi added.

"If you'd like you can join me and we can work on our decks," Misawa offered.

Kazuma thought for a moment and then shrugged. "I think I'll just walk around for a bit. Then I might head back to the dorm and go over my strategy for the exam." Misawa nodded in understanding.

"I see. Alright, shall we get going then?" Misawa asked, addressing Naomi, to which the female Akasaka nodded once and the two students left the classroom and headed for the Ra Yellow dorm.

* * *

As Kazuma walked around the main portion of the island for a while, he began to formulate a plan of how his deck would be structured for the exams that afternoon.

"There you are"

Kazuma blinked as he heard someone addressing him and turned around. What he saw surprised him greatly. Standing in front of him was none other than Marie.

"What are you doing here?" Kazuma asked, trying not to panic too much. "Is it okay for you to be outside of that room?"

"I wanted to see what it was like outside there, and The Nose said it was fine." Marie replied.

"And you came looking for me?" Kazuma questioned. Marie nodded.

"Could you… well… show me around?" she asked.

"I guess I could. I still have some time to kill." the Persona Duelist replied. With that, the pair began walking again, with Kazuma leading the way.

* * *

After a few minutes, the pair arrived at the Ra dorm.

"Well, here we are. This is my dorm." Kazuma spoke up.

"Dough-worm?" Marie wondered.

"This is pretty much where I live." Kazuma explained. Marie then looked around the area, seemingly contemplating something.

"Y'know… I feel weird. It's like… nostalgic, for the smell and all." Marie added.

"Nostalgic?" Kazuma parroted in confusion.

"Yeah, that's what I said. It just... feels that way." the Velvet Room resident answered.

"Maybe… because of the ocean?" Kazuma guessed. He shrugged. The Persona Duelist led Marie inside the dorm and into the dining hall. Noticing that no one was around, Kazuma looked down at his deck and decided to go over his strategy once more.

After the pair walked over to a table and sat down, Kazuma laid his deck out on the tabletop and began spreading out the cards. Meanwhile, Marie watched Kazuma in interest as he scanned over various cards. The Persona Duelist looked up and noticed Marie watching intently.

"Oh, that's right… Do you know what Duel Monsters is?" he asked.

"Duel… Monsters?" Marie parroted. Kazuma nodded once.

"It's a game that's really popular where you play with these cards." Kazuma explained.

"Oh yeah… I remember. Everyone plays this. Samantha told me that." Marie said.

"Oh hey, Aniki." Kazuma heard Naomi speak up. He turned to the entrance of the dining hall to see his sister walking in. "So did you come up with any new strategies…" The female Akasaka then noticed Marie sitting next to Kazuma. "Who's this girl? She's so cute."

"This is Marie." Kazuma replied.

"Huh? Oh, yeah…" the Velvet Room resident said, looking somewhat perplexed.

"Marie-chan**(1)**, huh? Ooh, that;s a nice name…" Naomi said. "Oh, I'm his sister Naomi. Nice to meet you."

"Okay…" Marie replied.

"Oh! Is it almost time already?" Naomi wondered as she noticed the time on the clock in the dining hall. "Well, I'm going to go put the final touches on my deck before the exams start. Later, Aniki!" And with that, Naomi left the dining hall and headed back to her room.

"Your sister is an interesting person." Marie commented after a moment of silence.

"She definitely is." Kazuma added.

"Hey, let's go somewhere else. Somewhere with a nice view." Marie suggested.

"Sure." Kazuma answered. After gathering his cards and putting them back in his deck holder, he and Marie left the dining hall and headed out of the dorm building.

* * *

After several times in which he nearly lost Marie the moment he took his eyes off of her, Kazuma managed to bring Marie to a nearby cliff that overlooked the ocean.

"Hmm… There's a lot of green and blue around here…" Marie commented half to herself. "Leaves of green fly away, farewell to you, clouds of the sky… I fly as well, lost as the day, farewell to you, moon of the night." Kazuma wasn't sure what to make of what she had been murmuring.

"What was that?" Kazuma queried.

"N-No! I-I-I wasn't making up a poem!" Marie snapped as she turned to face the Persona Duelist. "It's just some words that I was thinking! That's all! Yeah!" Marie then began to blush furiously. "... ShutupIhateyouyoustupidjerk! D-Don't snoop on me!"

Marie then stormed off towards where the cliff started ending off and looked out at the ocean, with Kazuma joining her.

"Wow, it's pretty big…" Marie said as she looked out at the ocean. "I don't know why, but I feel good about this place. It reminds me of something."

"Is that so?" Kazuma answered.

"Yeah. I don't really know why though…" Marie added. "Are there any other places we can go? I want to see more."

"I'll show you around." Kazuma replied.

"Please do." Marie said. "I notice a lot of things when I'm with you. It's pretty fun." Kazuma could tell that Marie expected something of him.

_**SMASH!**_

Kazuma blinked as he saw a tarot card covered in azure flames materializing in front of him. The card had a golden frame around the edging and the face depicted some sort of divine figure. At the bottom of the framing was the Roman numeral for twenty.

"_**Thou art I… I am thou…" **_An ominous voice resounded within Kazuma's mind. _**"Thou hast established a new bond… It unveils thy inner strength. Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Aeon Arcana…" **_The voice then faded as the card shattered into a mass of blue stardust which settled over the pair.

"Alright, next! Where to now?" Marie spoke up.

"Actually… I don't have much time left right now. I have an exam to get to this afternoon." Kazuma said. "Sorry."

"I see." Marie replied. "Well, let's go somewhere else another time then." Kazuma nodded.

After a few minutes, Marie had shown Kazuma where she had come in from, a glowing blue door that was just outside the Ra dorm. After saying goodbye and watching Marie enter the Velvet Room once more, Kazuma went back inside the dorm building.

* * *

Time passed up until the beginning of the practical skills test, with all of the students and faculty gathering within the gymnasium for the second half of the examinations.

Misawa and Chiyu had won their duels already, though Sho had lost his. The Ra and Osiris students walked back up to their seats next to Judai, Kazuma, and Naomi in the bleachers.

"That was a good duel out there, Misawa." Kazuma complimented his fellow Ra.

"Thanks." he replied. Just then the next duel was called.

"Kazuma Akasaka and Naomi Akasaka…" Samejima announced. Naomi and Kazuma looked at each other as they learned who their opponents would be.

"A duel between siblings…" Misawa mused as the twins made their way down to one of the dueling fields set up in the gymnasium. "A bit cliche, but it should be interesting nonetheless."

* * *

The Akasaka twins stood facing each other in one of the empty arenas as they readied their Duel Disks.

"You know, we haven't dueled each other in a while." Naomi commented as she placed her deck inside her Duel Disk. "I think this is going to be fun."

"Yeah. Let's see who can win this time." Kazuma said as he also inserted his deck.

* * *

"They're dueling each other?" Asuka asked as she watched the duel commence alongside Mamoru, Chiyu, and Ryo. "Wouldn't they know each other's decks better than anyone here?"

"Maybe, but that won't matter too much." Ryo spoke up. "Keep in mind that we've already seen them duel at least once each now, and their decks are both fairly powerful, so there's no telling who could win."

"That's true." Mamoru added. "Plus if they know each other's decks so well, they should be able to counter each other pretty efficiently. This could be pretty exciting."

* * *

"DUEL!"

Both players then drew their starting hands.

**Kazuma LP: 4000  
Naomi LP: 4000**

"Boku no tan! Draw!" Kazuma called out as he drew his sixth card. "I summon **Hermit Persona - Forneus **in Attack mode!" As Kazuma played his card, a small grey manta ray-like creature appeared on the field in front of the Akasaka boy.

**Hermit Persona - Forneus  
LV 3  
Mizu  
Water/Effect  
ATK [1300] / DEF 1000**

"Then I'll end with a facedown. Tan endo." Kazuma concluded.

"Boku no tan! Draw!" Naomi declared as she drew her sixth card. "I summon **Digital Devil - Serph the Embryon **in Attack mode!" Playing her card, the silver-haired man emerged from a portal in the ground, loading his handgun.

**Digital Devil - Serph the Embryon  
LV 4  
Chi  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK [1600] / DEF 1400**

"**Serph**, attack **Forneus**!" Naomi commanded. The silver-haired man aimed his handgun at the manta ray **Persona **and fired, causing the latter Monster to shatter into pixels.

**Kazuma LP: 4000-3700  
Naomi LP: 4000**

"I'll set 2 cards face-down. Tan endo." Naomi added as she followed through with her statement, and ending her turn afterwards.

"Boku no tan! Draw!" Kazuma called as he drew. "Since i control no Monsters, I'm allowed to Normal summon **Fool Persona - Ose **without a Release!" As Kazuma played his next card, the anthropomorphic cheetah from his entrance duel appeared, wielding his saber.

**Fool Persona - Ose  
LV 5  
Chi  
Beast-Warrior/Effect  
ATK [1800] / DEF 2100**

"Next, I activate the Magic Card, **Persona Skill - Apt Pupil**!" Kazuma announced as he played the aforementioned Magic Card. "This allows me to Normal Summon or set 2 **Personas **this turn! So now I'll release **Ose **in order to Advance summon **Fool Persona - Decarabia**!" As Ose vanished into a multicolored portal, he gave rise to a new creature; a red starfish with a single eye at its center.

**Fool Persona - Decarabia  
LV 5  
Hono  
Demon/Effect  
ATK [2000] / DEF 2200**

"I think I know what's coming…" Naomi said cautiously.

And now I activate another Magic Card! **Persona Skill - Recarm**! Since I Normal Summoned a **Persona **this turn, I can now Special Summon a **Persona **from my Cemetery! I Special Summon **Hermit Persona - Forneus**!" A heavenly light fell on the arena as **Forneus **returned to the field.

**Hermit Persona - Forneus  
LV 3  
Mizu  
Water/Effect  
ATK [1300] / DEF 1000**

"Now I activate the Magic Card, **Mix Raid - Best Friends**!" Kazuma continued. "Since i control Forneus and Decarabia, the ATK and DEF of all Monsters i control are increased by 1000!"

"Oh boy…" Naomi muttered as she saw a golden orange aura rise around her brother's monsters, which soon mixed with another pale purple aura.

_[Hermit Persona - Forneus - ATK: 1300-2300 / DEF: 1000-2000]  
[Fool Persona - Decarabia - ATK: 2000-3000 / DEF: 2200-3200]_

* * *

"He managed to give his Monsters all that power with just a single card?" Sho asked in disbelief.

"Now I really want to duel him someday!" Judai said excitedly.

"There really seems to be no limit as to what his cards can do…" Misawa mused out of intrigue. "He could almost guarantee his victory with those two attacks."

* * *

"Now I'll attack **Serph **with **Decarabia**! Agidyne!" Kazuma commanded. The demonic starfish obeyed as a fireball shot forth from its eye, barreling right for Serph, who was unable to dodge. The resulting explosion engulfed the half-demon warrior.

**Kazuma LP: 3700  
Naomi LP: 4000-2600**

"Trap Card open!" Naomi countered as one of her set cards rose, a Trap depicting a brown-skinned demon with whip-like hands casting a spell to revive **Varna**. "**Karmic Mantra - Hades**! When a **Digital Devil **or **Atma Avatar **is destroyed in battle, I can Special Summon that Monster with half of its ATK!" **Serph **then returned to the field as the Trap Card's effect kicked in.

**Digital Devil - Serph the Embryon  
LV 4  
Chi  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK [1600] / DEF 1400**

"Then I'll attack **Serph **again with **Forneus**!" Kazuma added as icicles rained down on Serph this time, causing him to shatter once more.

**Kazuma LP: 3700  
Naomi LP: 2600-1100**

"I'll set one card face-down. Tan endo." Kazuma concluded.

"Boku no tan! Draw!" Naomi called. "I summon Digital devil - Argilla the Embryon!" The next card the Akasaka girl played gave rise to a young woman with long pink hair mostly tied up in a pair of buns on either side of her head, save for a few strands that hung loosely. She wore an outfit similar to the other Embryons, a grey uniform with orange markings. A rifle then materialized in her hands and she crouched on one knee, aiming the weapon at the opposing monsters.

**Digital Devil - Argilla the Embryon  
LV 3  
Chi  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK [1000] / DEF ****1700**

"I see what she's up to…" Kazuma muttered.

"I activate the Magic Card, **Atma Brand - Seismic Wave**!" Naomi declared as she played her Magic Card, which depicted a silhouette of **Argilla **with a glowing pink tattoo on her chest. "This allows me to return **Argilla **to my hand in order to Special Summon **Atma Avatar - Prithivi **from my hand!" The same tattoo depicted on the Magic Card appeared on Argilla's chest and began to pulsate, while glowing pink veins started spreading across the woman's body.

After a brief flash of light, **Argilla **had changed completely, now resembling the demon depicted on **Karmic Mantra - Hades**; a demon with skin similar to desert camouflage lined with small spines, and arms that, as the new Monster demonstrated, could double as whips. The new Monster also had a strange bony structure covering most of its face, looking almost like a pointed helmet. The most prominent feature, however, were the breasts, which now sported small mouths filled with sharpened teeth.

**Atma Avatar Prithivi**  
**LV 5  
Chi  
Demon/Effect  
ATK [2200] / DEF 2200**

"Now I activate **Prithivi's **Monster Effect!" Naomi continued. "Once per turn, I can Special Summon a Level 6 or lower **Digital Devil **or **Atma Avatar **from my Cemetery! So I'll Special Summon **Serph **again!" As a heavenly light fell upon the arena, **Serph **reappeared for a third time.

**Digital Devil - Serph the Embryon  
LV 4  
Chi  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK [1600] / DEF 1400**

"And next, since I control **Serph**, I can special Summon **Atma Avatar - Sera the Embryon**!" Naomi added as the girl with short black hair wielding a pistol materialized onto the field.

**Digital Devil - Sera the Embryon  
LV 4  
Chi  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK [1400] / DEF 1600**

"**Digital Devil - Serph the Embryon's **Monster Effect!" Naomi announced. "Since I control 2 other **Digital Devil **Monsters with different names, I can destroy up to two Magic and Trap Cards on my opponent's field!" Kazuma grunted as his facedown, **Persona Invocation**, was shattered by the bullet **Serph **fired.

'_Well there goes that plan…' _Kazuma thought to himself.

"I activate the Permanent Magic Card, **Karmic Mantra - Evil God**!" Naomi added as the card materialized on the field to show its effects would remain. "I choose from one of two effects to activate, and I choose the second! This decreases the ATK and DEF of all of my opponent's Monsters by 1000!" The auras that had been flaring around the two **Personas** vanished in seconds, denoting their loss of power.

_[Hermit Persona - Forneus - ATK: 2300-1300 / DEF: 2000-1000]  
[Fool Persona - Decarabia - ATK: 3000-2000 / DEF: 3200-2200]_

"Here it comes…" Kazuma said to himself.

"**Sera**, attack **Forneus**!" Naomi commanded. Sera closed her left eye and fired her handgun, causing the Water-Type **Persona **to shatter into pixels.

**Kazuma LP: 3700-3600  
Naomi LP: 1100**

"Next, **Prithivi **will attack **Decarabia**!" the Digital Devil Duelist continued as the demon swung her arm outwards, causing small chunks of rock to materialize in mid-air and fly at the starfish like bullets, destroying the Monster in seconds.

**Kazuma LP: 3600-3400  
Naomi LP: 1100**

"And when **Prithivi **destroys a Monster by battle, she gains 200 ATK." Naomi explained as the **Atma Avatar **grew stronger.

_[Atma Avatar - Prithivi - ATK: 2200-2400]_

"**Serph**, attack Aniki directly!" Naomi ordered. The silver-haired man complied as he fired the handgun he carried, causing Kazuma's Life Points to plummet.

**Kazuma LP: 3400-1800  
Naomi LP: 1100**

"Tan endo." Naomi concluded as she sighed in relief.

'_I think I can still turn this around.'_ she thought.

"Boku no tan! Draw!" Kazuma called out as he drew his next card. As he looked at it, he smirked, remembering which Monsters he had put in his deck before the exams started. "I activate **Persona Fusion - Triangle Spread**!"

"I thought so…" Naomi said as she saw the Fusion card being played.

"By using **Persona **Monsters from my hand, field, Deck, or Extra Deck, I can Fusion Summon a **Persona **Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck!" Kazuma explained as he took three Monsters from his Deck and revealed them for everyone to see. "I fuse **Fool Persona - Shiki-Ouji**, **Temperance Persona - Seiryuu**, and **Star Persona - Ganesha**!"

Three Monsters; a warrior clad in white garb, a large blue Chinese dragon, and a blue-skinned elephant with a single eye, appeared above the field in front of a glowing blue circle filled with arcane designs. The three Personas then turned into tarot cards covered in azure-colored flames before coalescing together at the centerpoint of the circle, creating a flash of bluish light.

"_Mara tsukure! Sankakkei no Yugo!" _Kazuma called out as the new **Persona **emerged. However… What was summoned was something that nobody expected to see…

Standing before Kazuma, and causing quite an uncomfortable uproar, was a large, green penis with additional tentacles on its body, as well as a mouth, which sat in a golden chariot.

**Tower Persona - Mara  
LV 9  
Hono  
Demon/Fusion/Effect  
ATK [2900] / DEF 1300**

* * *

"P-Principal S-Samejima…" Chronos managed to get out. "I-Is that what I think…"

"... Yes it is." Samejima replied.

* * *

"W-W-W-W-What is that?!" Asuka asked in a panic as she felt her cheeks heating up substantially.

"... You're seeing this stuff too, right guys…?" Mamoru asked. Chiyu slowly nodded, unsure of what to say.

"..." Ryo remained silent.

* * *

"My god…" Misawa said as he saw the Monster make its appearance.

Sho took one good look at the new **Persona**, and instantly looked away. Judai simply looked at the Monster, unsure of why everyone was so uncomfortable about seeing it. He then unconsciously looked downwards toward his pants, until he felt someone smack him in the back of the head, with the voice of Misawa sounding out.

"G-Get yourself together!" he said.

* * *

"A-Aniki…" Naomi stuttered as she felt herself blushing furiously, remembering the first time her brother had summoned that card. The Akasaka girl could also feel her body heating up slightly.

"I activate **Mara's** Monster Effect!" Kazuma declared, to the dread of everyone present for fear of what might happen, with the exception of Naomi. "By discarding two cards from my hand…" Kazuma did as the effect instructed before continuing, discarding the remaining two cards currently in his hand. "... I can inflict 2000 damage to my opponent!"

Everyone but Naomi gasped as **Mara** began to pant more and more, and he began to lean towards Naomi, with the tip of his head now facing her. In a matter of seconds…

… A wave of hot, white liquid gushed out from the tip of the **Persona's** head, covering Naomi and her Monsters in the substance. After the deed had been done, Mara corrected his position to reveal he had a satisfied smile on his face. Seeing Naomi in her current condition seemed to excite a few of the boys in the bleachers, some of them conversing among themselves.

"A-Aniki…" Naomi managed to get out as she felt a wave of arousal come over her while the warm fluids from **Mara** coated her form, and her imagination began to wander. "Aniki…"

**Kazuma LP: 1800 **(Winner)**  
Naomi LP: 1100-0**

As the holograms vanished, so did the fluids **Mara** had released, though Naomi still stood there with an intense blush on her face as she looked at the Persona duelist. Kazuma deactivated his Duel Disk and began walking up to his sister.

"Good job out there, Naomi." Kazuma said. "And, uh… sorry about that."

"..." Naomi felt her blush grow even more. "A-Aniki no baka**(2)**! Geez… Come on, let's go sit down..." With that, the red-haired girl walked off in a hurry, hurriedly followed by a confused Kazuma. The Akasaka twins took their seats next to Misawa.

"W-Well, that was an interesting d-duel, you two." Misawa said as he cleared his throat and tried to recompose himself.

"Thanks…" Kazuma said, expecting that this would happen after playing **Mara**.

"..." Naomi remained silent as the blush remained on her face, though she appeared to have calmed down somewhat.

Suddenly, Kazuma noticed someone jogging towards the three of them. It appeared to be a young man with messy dark brown hair and brown eyes. The young man wore the Osiris Red jacket over a darker red shirt and black pants. He stopped in front of Kazuma with a big grin of excitement on his face.

"Dude, you're awesome!" the young man said with equal excitement.

"Huh?" Kazuma wondered aloud.

"That Monster you summoned at the end there! It was so great!" the young man continued.

"... Mara?" the red-haired boy wondered.

"Yeah. Someone would have to have some serious balls to summon that thing here. No pun intended." the young man said.

Everyone's attention was broken though by a loud gasp of surprise, "Why am I dueling Manjoume?"

The group of five looked down at the field and saw that Judai was on the same field as Manjoume.

"What?! But aren't the skills tests supposed to be against those from the same dorm?" Sho questioned.

"They're supposed to be…" Kazuma said, finding the situation strange.

"Since you scored so well on the entry exam, you wouldn't match up evenly against any Osiris Red student," Professor Chronos told the E-HERO duelist as he walked up to the field. "Which is why we have judged that Signore Manjoume is a much more suitable opponent for you. Of course, if you win, you'll be promoted to Ra Yellow."

"A promotion already?" Sho questioned in surprise.

"It is strange that there'd be one so early in the year, but it _is_ also a skills test against someone from a higher dorm… In this case, the highest," Misawa pointed out.

"Well, not like we can do anything about it but watch," Kazuma shrugged.

"So, how does that sound to you, Yuki Judai-kun?" Professor Chronos asked. "Will you accept this offer?"

"Fine by me!" Judai agreed. "I want to duel against all kinds of people. I want to take on challenges, no matter who they're from!"

"Then, you'll accept the duel with Signore Manjoume?" Chronos asked, wanting to make sure that's what the E-HERO duelist was saying.

"Alright. I'm going to settle what we started before," Manjoume said with a pleased smirk.

"Yeah!" Judai shouted in agreement as the two of them pushed their decks into their Duel Disks.

"DUEL!" the two shouted as Chronos ran off the field and the two students drew their opening hands.

**Judai LP: 4000  
Manjoume LP: 4000**

"Let's go, Manjoume!"

"It's Manjoume-san!"

"I'll go first! Draw!" Judai said as he drew his sixth card, taking the first turn.

_**"Kuri kuri!" **_a familiar voice chirped, causing Judai to look at the card he had drawn.

"So it's you, **Winged Kuriboh**?" Judai said to himself before grinning._ 'Partner… you coming out right from the jump is reassuring. In that case, I'll…' _"I'll summon **Elemental HERO Clayman **in Defense mode!"

As Judai played his card, the Elemental HERO of stone appeared on the field, kneeling down with its arms crossed.

**Elemental HERO Clayman  
LV 4  
Chi  
Warrior  
ATK 800 / DEF [2000]**

"Tān endo," Judai concluded without playing anything else.

"Your worthless **HERO** deck full of smallfries… I'll show you just how fragile you are! Ore no tān. Draw!" Manjoume called out as he drew his sixth card and looked at his hand. _'And already, it's a rare card I got from Professor Chronos…' _"I activate the Magic Card, **Mallet of Luck**!"

"What?!" Judai shouted in surprise.

"By shuffling this card, along with any cards I don't want in my hand, back into my deck, I'll draw that many new cards!" Manjoume explained as he held up four other cards from his hand. "And now, I'll…"

* * *

"Huh? He's going to replace that many cards?!" Sho shouted in shock.

"That Manjoume guy must have a pretty bad hand if he's putting so many back," Kazuma figured.

"That... or he's trying to find something specific," Naomi finally spoke up, seemingly having finally calmed down.

* * *

"What's more, the **Mallet of Luck **isn't a one-time use card. Since it'll keep returning to my deck, it'll keep going right back into my hand!" Manjoume explained further as he shuffled the five cards into his deck and drew five new cards, revealing one of them to be **Mallet of Luck** again before playing it once more. "I activate the **Mallet of Luck** again! I'll return **Mallet of Luck **and another card into my deck and draw two cards again!" The Obelisk student put the two cards back into his deck and shuffled once more before drawing two new cards. "Come forth! I summon **V-Tiger Jet **in Attack mode!"

As Manjoume played his next card, the Monster that appeared was a yellow and green Machine-Type modeled after a tiger.

**V-Tiger Jet  
LV 4  
Hikari  
Machine  
ATK [1600] / DEF 1800**

"Next, from my hand, I activate the Permanent Magic, **Frontline Base**!" Manjoume continued as he played his next card, which depicted **Swordsman of the Dark Demon World, Dark Sword **mounted on the back of **Jet-Black Dragon **about to take flight off a stone wall. "Once each turn, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Monster from my hand! And this turn, I'll Special Summon **W-Wing Catapult **in Attack mode! Come forth, **W-Wing Catapult**!"

Appearing next on Manjoume's field was another blue jet-like Machine.

**W-Wing Catapult  
LV 4  
Hikari  
Machine/Union  
ATK [1300] / DEF 1500**

"And then, I fuse it with **V-Tiger Jet**!" Manjoume continued as the newest Monster took flight followed by the first Monster before they combined together. "Go! **VW-Tiger Catapult**!"

**VW-Tiger Catapult  
LV 6  
Hikari  
Machine/Fusion/Effect  
ATK [2000] / DEF 2100**

* * *

"Nani?!" Sho exclaimed. "But he never used **Fusion**!"

"He didn't need to." the brown-haired man pointed out.

"What do you mean?" Kazuma asked.

"I've heard of these cards before." he explained. "There's a reason that they're so rare. So far they're the only cards that are able to fuse together without another card aiding the process. A Combination Summon…"

"I see…" Kazuma mused.

"Oh, by the way, my name's Hyoudou Issei." the young man added, realizing he had yet to introduce himself to the Persona Duelist. Kazuma looked at him and nodded.

"Akasaka Kazuma... Nice to meet you." Kazuma replied.

* * *

Judai was completely speechless during Manjoume's turn. "Shocked, are you, Judai? However, my turn has far from ended. Next, I activate **VW-Tiger Catapult's **special effect! By discarding a card in my hand, it switches an opponent's Monster into Attack mode!"

"What?!" Judai gasped in shock.

* * *

"No fair! If his 800-ATK **Clayman** gets hit with an attack…" Sho trailed off.

"This is bad. The duel's just started and already Judai's in trouble," Kazuma said as Manjoume pushed one of his cards into his Cemetery slot, causing **Clayman** to stand

* * *

"Here I go, Judai! VW-Tiger Missiles, fire! Eradicate Clayman!" Manjoume commanded, to which the combined Monster fired a barrage of missiles at the stone HERO, obliterating him from the field.

**JudaiLP: 4000-2800  
Manjoume LP: 4000**

* * *

"Big Bro!" Sho called out.

"Judai!" Kazuma called as well.

* * *

"Bravo! Signore Manjoume has certainly mastered the tactics he's added in to their fullest!" Professor Chronos cheered for his student as he and Principal Samejima watched the tests.

* * *

"I place a card face-down to finish my turn!" Manjoume concluded as a reversed card appeared on his field.

"That's nothing! The duel has just begun!" Judai declared as he drew his next card. "Here goes. Ore no tān. Draw! I summon **Elemental HERO Sparkman **in Defense mode!"

Appearing next on Judai's field was the suited E-HERO of electricity.

**Elemental HERO Sparkman  
LV 4  
Hikari  
Warrior  
ATK 1600 / DEF [1400]**

"I place a card face-down to end my turn!" Judai concluded as a reversed card appeared behind his Monster.

* * *

"Huh? Defense mode isn't like Big Bro at all…" Sho noted in a worried tone.

"With what he's facing at 2000 ATK, it must be the only thing he can do," Misawa figured.

"It doesn't help that Manjoume can just change Judai's Monsters to Attack mode anyway as long as he has cards in his hand," Issei pointed out.

* * *

"Ore no tān. Draw!" Manjoume shouted as he drew his next card. "I summon **X-Head Cannon **in Attack mode!" Appearing on Manjoume's field was a blue, legless, humanoid Machine with cannons mounted on its shoulders.

**X-Head Cannon  
LV 4  
Hikari  
Machine  
ATK [1800] / DEF 1500**

"Next, with the effect of the Permanent Magic, **Frontline Base**, I Special Summon **Z-Metal Caterpillar**!" Next to appear was a yellow and green tank-like Machine

**Z-Metal Caterpillar  
LV 4  
Hikari  
Machine/Union  
ATK [1500] / DEF 1300**

"Y-You couldn't…!" Judai gasped at the implication Manjoume might have the entire set.

* * *

"Since he has **X** and **Z**, that means the only card left is…!" Sho trailed off for the same reason as Judai.

* * *

"Reverse card, open!" Manjoume shouted triumphantly as he face-down card rose, depicting a cemetery with a strange mist rising up. "I can use this **Call of the Living Dead's **effect to revive a Monster card from my Cemetery! And that Monster is…"

Appearing onto the field in a surge of light was a red dragon-shaped Machine.

**Y-Dragon Head  
LV 4  
Hikari  
Machine/Union  
ATK [1500] / DEF 1600**

* * *

"It's Y!" Sho cried out.

"He has them all?!" Kazuma and Naomi shouted together in surprise.

"T-This is bad!" Misawa said, cringing a bit.

* * *

"Here we go, Judai! I combine **X**, **Y**, and **Z** together!" Manjoume declared as the three Monsters took flight and began to connect together, jettisoning any unnecessary parts

**XYZ-Dragon Cannon  
LV 8  
Hikari  
Machine/Fusion/Effect  
ATK [2800] / DEF 2600**

"**XYZ-Dragon Cannon**!" the Obelisk called out as his new Monster stood behind him.

* * *

"There are two Monsters on the field with an ATK of 2000 or higher…" Misawa stated the obvious. "Does Judai have any chance of winning now?"

"Unless Judai can somehow avoid taking any damage this turn, that **XYZ-Dragon Cannon **could end the duel by itself," Issei pointed out.

* * *

"There's more!" Manjoume continued, shocking Judai. "I'm not done yet! I'm going to use my **VW-Tiger Catapult **and my **XYZ-Dragon Cannon **for a Combination Summon again!"

"Again!?" Judai repeated as the two Monsters took flight again, disconnecting and reconnecting where needed until they formed a colossal robot.

**V-to-Z - Dragon Catapult Cannon  
LV 8  
Hikari  
Machine/Fusion/Effect  
ATK [3000] / DEF 2800**

"This is my **V-to-Z - Dragon Catapult Cannon**!" Manjoume called out. "And **V-to-Z's** special ability activates!"

Without warning, **Sparkman** was removed from the field in a small tornado, "**Sparkman**…!"

"A pity, isn't it, Judai?" Manjoume asked as the Osiris looked up at the giant Monster. "**V-to-Z** is able to remove an opponent's card once per turn. Taste and savor it. The sadness of the one who has nothing…"

Kazuma raised an eyebrow from hearing Manjoume's last sentence, as if feeling some hidden meaning behind the words of the Obelisk.

* * *

"This is simply the best!" Chronos continued to cheer giddily. "That dropout boy will be dropping any moment now!"

* * *

"Go, **V-to-Z**! Attack the player directly!" Manjoume ordered as he pointed at Judai.

"Hold it! Reverse card, open!" Judai quickly countered as his set card rose. "**Hero Meeting**!"

* * *

"What?" Chronos wondered curiously.

* * *

"**Hero Meeting**?" Manjoume repeated.

"If the card my opponent chooses is a Monster card, this card can summon it to my field!" Judai explained as he held up the cards in his hand. "C'mon and choose, Manjoume!"

"It's Manjoume-_san_!" the Obelisk corrected. "The leftmost card!"

Judai skimmed his finger over his cards and stopped at the one further to his left, "Lucky! I summon this card, **Burst Lady**, in Defense mode!"

As Judai played his card, the female **HERO** of fire appeared on the field, taking the same defensive stance as the previous two **HERO** Monsters.

**Elemental HERO Burst Lady  
LV 3  
Hono  
Warrior  
ATK 1200 / DEF [800]**

"I won't let it be in Defense mode!" Manjoume countered. "When **V-to-Z** attacks, the Monster's battle mode is completely up to me! **V-to-Z**! Ultimate Destruction! Attack **Burst Lady**!"

The giant robot responded immediately by firing its twin cannons at the female **HERO** as she stood up, instantly obliterating her from the field.

**Judai LP: 2800-1000  
Manjoume LP: 4000**

* * *

"Big Bro!" Sho cried out.

"This is really bad… Even if Judai gets a Monster on the field, Manjoume could just use his own Monster's effect to remove it and go straight for a direct attack!" Kazuma noted.

* * *

"Tān endo!" Manjoume concluded. "Once again, you're totally exposed. You don't have a single Monster on your field,"

"I… believe in my deck. As long as there are Monsters that'll fight by my side until the very end in here, I'll keep fighting!" Judai retorted as he drew his next card. "Draw!" Judai then quickly looked at the card he had drawn and his eyes widened a little._ 'T-This is…'_

_**[Flashback]**_

_Before the practical skills test, though after the written test, Judai and Sho had gone to the card shop to try and get some of the new cards that had come in, but were too late. Only able to get a single pack that was left, Judai gave it to Sho while the store's manager, Tome, recognized the E-HERO duelist._

_"Come on over here… I nabbed this for you!" Tome said as she held out a pack of cards for Judai. "This is my thanks for helping me push my car. Because I thought an Osiris Red fellow like you probably doesn't have a single rare card."_

_**[Flashback End]**_

_**"Kuri kuri!" **_Winged Kuriboh squeaked.

"**Winged Kuriboh**, do you sense something?" Judai asked his Partner.

_**"Kuri kuri!" **_the winged furball responded.

"Since you insist, I'll bet everything on this card!" Judai said as he grabbed **Winged Kuriboh's **card. "I summon **Winged Kuriboh** in Defense mode!"

Appearing on Judai's field was the small Angel Monster that helped him defeat Professor Chronos at the entrance exam.

**Winged Kuriboh  
LV 1  
Hikari  
Angel/Effect  
ATK 300 / DEf [200]**

"Kawaii~! **(3)**" nearly all the female students in the gymnasium gushed over the furry little creature, the only exceptions being Asuka and Chiyu.

"Then, I set a card face-down and finish my turn!" Judai concluded as a reversed card appeared behind **Winged Kuriboh**

* * *

"Defense mode, again…" Sho said worriedly. "Have you run out of options, Big Bro?"

"And unfortunately **Winged Kuriboh's** Monster Effect won't work if Manjoume uses **V-to-Z's** effect to remove it from play since it has to be destroyed," Kazuma stated.

* * *

"Ore no tān. Draw!" Manjoume said, drawing his next card. "It's useless! Even if that annoying furball that reduces Battle Damage to 0 is there, **V-to-Z's** special effect will remove it!

"Then just try it!" Judai dared.

"Wipe out that **Winged Kuriboh**, and then attack Judai directly!" Manjoume commanded. "Ultimate Destruction!"

Once again, the giant robot immediately fired its twin cannons at Judai's Monster.

* * *

"He's done for!" Sho said in worry. "His **Winged Kuriboh **won't last a second against it!"

"Wait… no." Kazuma spoke up. "There's a reason he summoned it, even though he knows Manjoume can just remove it from play."

"So he has a plan?" Misawa questioned.

"Here's hoping he does." Kazuma replied.

* * *

"Here it is, Partner!" Judai told his Monster. "From my hand, I use two cards as a cost to activate **Evolving Wings**!" As Judai sent the two remaining cards in his hand to the Cemetery, his set card rose showing a child-like angel with a pair of large wings with an older angel in the background of the card while surrounding **Winged Kuriboh **in light.

"What?!" both Manjoume and Chronos shouted in surprise.

When the light faded, **Winged Kuriboh** was now wearing gold armor with a dragon  
design and its wings had grown several times larger.

**Winged Kuriboh LV10  
LV 10  
Hikari  
Angel/Effect  
ATK 300 / DEF [200]**

The new Winged Kuriboh then wrapped its own wings around its body, protecting it from **V-to-Z's** attack.

"W-What's happening?!" Manjoume shouted in shock.

"Thanks to **Evolving Wings**, **Winged Kuriboh** evolves!" Judai explained. "Now, **Winged Kuriboh's** a Level 10!" Everyone watching the duel was awestruck by Judai's new card. "His effect lets him sacrifice himself to destroy all Monsters in Attack mode, dealing their ATK as damage to the opposing player! **Winged Kuriboh**, send all that energy right back at him!"

The newly-armored furball absorbed the Machine's attack into its wings and then fired it right back at it with thrice the size and power, destroying the giant robot and damaging Manjoume as a result.

**Judai LP: 1000  
Manjoume LP: 4000-1000**

"Tān endo!" Manjoume growled in frustration, having nothing left.

"Manjoume!" Judai called out to his opponent. "Now our Life Points are at 1000 a piece. But it'd be interesting if I drew a Monster with an ATK of 1000 or higher, wouldn't it?"

"What crap are you spewing?! As if it'd be that simple!" Manjoume said angrily.

"But it'd be interesting if I _did_ draw one, wouldn't it? Ore no tān. Draw!" Judai called out as he drew his next card and looked at it. "I summon this card, **Featherman**, and I attack the player directly!"

**Elemental HERO Featherman  
LV 3  
Kaze  
Warrior  
ATK [1000] / DEF 1000**

Judai immediately played his card, summoning the winged E-HERO and letting it charge across the field, causing everyone watching to gasp at Judai's luck as his Monster struck Manjoume with its clawed arm, sending the Obelisk student to his knees.

**Judai LP: 1000** (Winner)**  
Manjoume LP: 1000-0**

"You did it!" Sho shouted happily as everyone cheered for the Osiris student. "You did it, Big Bro!"

"Way to go, Judai!" Naomi cheered as well.

"Incredible. He even managed to win against a card that strong," Kazuma said under his breath, his eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"To have that many rare cards and lose…" Chronos said to himself in shock.

"It appears that there were grounds for him beating you, Professor Chronos," Samejima told the faculty member, causing Chronos to freeze up for a moment.

"You really _must_ excuse me!" the Obelisk Boys dorm leader said before walking off.

* * *

Down on the field, Judai waved to everyone as they continued to cheer for him before performing his two-fingered salute to Manjoume, "Gotcha! That sure was a fun game!"

Manjoume raised his head to look at his opponent, seething angrily, "Judai…"

"Hey! Hey, Big Bro!" Sho called out to Judai as he, Misawa, Kazuma, Naomi, and Issei walked up to the E-HERO duelist.

"You have shown me, Yuki Judai," Samejima said through the PA system in the gymnasium, earning everyone's attention. "Your trust in your deck, your passionate friendship with your Monsters, and most importantly, a dueling soul that never gives up in a fight… These are things I'm sure everyone here has acknowledged. So, as the winner, Yuki-kun, you are… being promoted to Ra Yellow!"

"Congratulations!" all the students in the gymnasium shouted their cheers. "Good going, Judai!"

"You're incredible! You're just awesome, Big Bro!" Sho praised the E-HERO duelist before hugging him from behind. "You've overwhelmed me!"

"Aren't I though?" Judai said with a laugh.

"Yuki Judai, congratulations, and welcome to Ra Yellow," Misawa said as he held out his hand.

"Yeah!" Judai said enthusiastically as he shook Misawa's hand.

"And we'd like to welcome you too," Naomi said as she and Kazuma walked up next to Misawa.

"A strong duelist like you is sure going to make things fun around here," Kazuma said, a faint smile creeping on his face as the other students continued to cheer and confetti started falling from the ceiling.

_'So, now, Big Bro is an official Ra Yellow student,' _Sho thought to himself as he stared at Judai happily. _'It's gonna be lonely being separated from my Big Bro, but… I suppose this is all for the best. Congratulations, Big Bro… Congratulations!'_

* * *

That evening, some time after dinner had passed, Kazuma was sitting just outside the Ra dorm, looking out at the stars. He then took out something from inside his pocket; a picture of himself and Naomi, though much younger, and two older figures standing behind them. the young Kazuma was holding up a deck with a bright smile on his face.

"Tou-san, Kaa-san…" Kazuma whispered. Just then, he noticed someone walking outside of the dorm building. Turning his head, Kazuma was surprised to find that it was Judai, and he had all of his belongings with him as well. _'Eh?' _"Judai!" The new Ra turned to see Kazuma and waved.

"Hey, Kazuma!" he replied. Kazuma stood up, put the picture back in his pocket, and walked over to the E-HERO Duelist.

"What's going on? How come you have your stuff with you?" Kazuma wondered. Judai chuckled.

"This is gonna sound a little silly, but…" Judai began. "I decided to move back into the Osiris dorm." The Persona Duelist quirked a brow in surprise.

"Really?" he wondered aloud.

"Yeah." Judai replied. "I was actually starting to really like the place." Kazuma chuckled.

"Well then who am I to stop you?" he said. "What did Professor Kabayama say when you told him?"

"He was totally fine with it. He said that if that was where I thought I should be, then it wouldn't be a problem. Besides, red is the color of blazing fire, boiling blood, and fervent zeal. That dorm is where I wanna be when I become the next King."

"The next King, huh?" Kazuma replied. "Well then, let's work hard these next three years."

"Definitely!" Judai said.

_**CRASH!**_

Kazuma watched as another tarot card engulfed in azure flames descend in front of him. The card turned over, with the face depicting a court jester carrying a scepter and surrounded by various animals.

"_**Thou art I… I am thou…" **_The ominous voice resounded within Kazuma's mind once more. _**"Thou hast established a new bond… It unveils thy inner strength. Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Jester Arcana…" **_The voice then faded as the card shattered into a mass of blue stardust which settled over the boys.

"...ey, Kazuma. You alright?" Kazuma heard Judai ask. The Persona Duelist blinked as his mind returned to reality.

"Huh?" Kazuma got out.

"You alright, man? You just kinda spaced out for a second there." Judai said.

"Yeah, I'm alright…" Kazuma answered.

"Cool. Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow." Judai said as he gave his two-fingered salute.

"Yeah… See you tomorrow." Kazuma said as he watched Judai run off with his stuff in tow. The Persona Duelist chuckled to himself as a smile began forming on his lips, something that was rare for him until he came to Duel Academia.

'_And here I thought I could keep my shield up forever…' _He thought to himself as he looked up at the starry sky once more. After a moment of thought, the red-haired boy decided to go back inside the dorm for the night.

* * *

_**And there we go, folks, another chapter done. I… surprisingly have nothing to say really, so I'll just get to the new cards and see you all in the next chapter. Don't forget to leave your feedback in the reviews!**_

_**Later!**_

* * *

_**Fool Persona - Decarabia  
**__**LV 5  
**__**Hono  
**__**Demon/Effect  
**__**ATK 2000 / DEF 2200  
**_Effect - This card cannot be destroyed by battle once per turn. If this card is face-up on the field while you control "Hermit Persona - Forneus", you can add 1 "Best Friends" from your Deck to your hand.

_**Hermit Persona - Forneus  
LV 3  
Mizu  
Water/Effect  
ATK 1300 / DEF 1000  
**_Effect - Any Monster that battles with this card is not destroyed by that battle. At the end of the Damage Step, if this card attacked a Monster: You can place 1 Poison Counter on that Monster (max. 1). A Monster with a Poison Counter on it loses 300 ATK during each of its controller's Standby Phases.

_**Fool Persona - Shiki-Ouji**_ (mentioned, not played)_**  
LV 6  
Hikari  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK 2000 / DEF 1800  
**_Effect - Once per turn, when this card battles, increase its ATK and DEF by 500, until the End Phase.

_**Temperance Persona - Seiryuu**_ (mentioned, not played)_**  
LV 4  
Chi  
Dragon/Effect  
ATK 1500 / DEF 1500  
**_Effect - Once per turn, if you control at least 1 other "Persona" Monster with a different name: When this card attacks, destroy the attack target without applying Damage Calculation. If you control a face-up "Temperance Persona - Byakko" while this card is face-up on the field: This card's effect becomes the following effect:  
● Face-up "Persona" Monsters you control cannot be destroyed by battle.

_**Star Persona - Ganesha**_ (mentioned, not played)_**  
LV 4  
Kaze  
Beast/Effect  
ATK 2000 / DEF 2000  
**_Effect - Once per turn: If this card would be destroyed by battle, it is not destroyed, but its ATK and DEF become 100.

_**Tower Persona - Mara  
LV 9  
Hono  
Demon/Fusion/Effect  
ATK 2900 / DEF 1300  
Materials - "Fool Persona - Shiki-Ouji" + "Temperance Persona - Seiryuu" + "Star Persona - Ganesha"  
**_Effect - If this card attacks a Defense Position Monster, inflict piercing Battle Damage to your opponent. Once per turn: You can send 2 cards from your hand to the Cemetery: inflict 2000 damage to your opponent. This card cannot attack the turn you use this effect.

_**Mix Raid - Best Friends  
Normal Magic Card**_  
This card can only be activated while you control "Fool Persona - Decarabia" and "Hermit Persona - Forneus". Increase that ATK and DEF of all "Persona" Monster you control by 1000. You can only activate 1 "Mix Raid" card per turn.

_**Persona Skill - Apt Pupil  
Normal Magic Card**_  
You can conduct 2 Normal Summons/Sets this turn, but the Monsters Summoned/Set must be "Persona" Monsters.

* * *

_**Digital Devil - Argilla the Embryon  
**__**LV 3  
**__**Chi  
**__**Warrior/Effect  
**__**ATK 1000 / DEF**_ _**1700  
**_Effect - Once per turn, you can increase your Life Points equal to the number of Monsters you control x 400.

_**Atma Avatar Prithivi**_  
_**LV 5  
Chi  
Demon/Effect  
ATK 2200 / DEF 2200**_  
Effect - This card cannot be destroyed by battle with a Chi-Attribute Monster. Each time this card destroys an opponent's Monster by battle, increase its ATK by 200. Once per turn, you can Special Summon 1 Level 6 or lower "Digital Devil" or "Atma Avatar" Monster from your Cemetery.

_**Atma Brand - Seismic Wave  
Normal Magic Card**_  
Target 1 face-up "Digital Devil - Argilla the Embryon" you control; return it to your hand, then Special Summon 1 "Atma Avatar Prithivi" from your hand.

_**Karmic Mantra - Hades  
Normal Trap Card**_  
If a "Digital Devil" or "Atma Avatar" Monster you control was destroyed by battle this turn, you can Special Summon that Monster. The ATK of that Monster is halved until your next Standby Phase.

_**Karmic Mantra - Evil God  
Permanent Magic Card**_  
Once per turn: Activate 1 of the following effects:  
● "Digital Devil" and "Atma Avatar" Monsters cannot be destroyed by battle with a Hikari or Yami-Attribute Monster this turn. Also, "Digital Devil" and "Atma Avatar" Monsters cannot be targeted by the effects of Hikari or Yami-Attribute Monsters this turn.  
● Decrease the ATK and DEF of all Monsters your opponent controls by 1000 until the End Phase.

* * *

_**Mallet of Luck (Anime Effect)  
**__**Normal Magic Card  
**_Add this card and any number of cards from your hand to the Deck and shuffle it. Then draw the same number of cards you added to the Deck.

* * *

**(1): **"Chan" (ちゃん [t͡ɕaɴ]) is a diminutive suffix; it expresses that the speaker finds a person endearing. In general, "chan" is used for babies, young children, grandparents and teenagers. It may also be used towards cute animals, lovers, close friends, any youthful woman, or between friends. Using chan with a superior's name is considered to be condescending and rude.

Although, traditionally, honorifics are not applied to oneself, some people adopt the childish affectation of referring to themselves in the third person using "chan" (childish because it suggests that one has not learned to distinguish between names used for self and names used by others). For example, a young woman named Kanako might call herself Kanako-chan rather than using a first person pronoun. However, it only applies to people who have known each other for a long time and between people of the same gender. Otherwise, using this for someone, especially adults, only known for a short period of time, can be seen as offensive. "Chan" can also be used to refer to a peer that is female. Example: Naomi referring to Marie as "Marie-chan".

**(2):** "Stupid brother"

**(3):** I'm sure I don't have to really explain this, but for those that don't know what "kawaii" means, basically it means something is adorable/cute.


	6. Turn 5

**Per-So-Na! GX: Eleven Stars**

**Turn 5**

This night on the Duel Academia island was a night with a full moon, and deep in the forest stood a run-down building that resembled some sort of dorm. The entrance had a "Do Not Enter" sign chained across the gate and standing in front of it was Tenjoin Asuka. The Obelisk Queen walked closer to the gate, but instead of entering, she knelt down by one of the stone pillars and placed a single red rose on the ground before standing back up and staring at the decrepit building.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Osiris Red dining hall, Judai, Sho, their fellow roommate Hayato, Naomi and Kazuma had gathered together to tell stories using a deck of cards, with the only source of light being a lit candle. Currently, Sho was in the middle of his story.

"On a cliff on the north part of this island, there's…" Sho said, pausing to build tension. "…a cave."

"Yeah, go on," Judai urged, wanting Sho to continue as Hayato and the female Akasaka twin nodded in agreement. Kazuma simply listened as Sho continued.

"Deep in the cave is a small inlet…" the short Osiris continued. "…and when night falls, moonlight will shine in from the ceiling."

"Yeah? Yeah?" Hayato said.

"Then, when you look in at the bottom of the inlet, a card you want shows up in the bottom of the water…" Sho continued. "…and they say when you reach for it… you'll suddenly get yourself pulled into the ocean!"

To add emphasis, Sho shot one arm into the air with a look on his face as if he were drowning.

"I wanna go see that inlet!" Judai said enthusiastically.

"Big Bro, aren't you mixed up? I just told you a _scary_ story," Sho said, wondering why Judai and Kazuma weren't the least bit scared while Hayato was now cowering in the corner of the room and Naomi had lightly gripped her brother's arm.

"Well, I guess that's the best a Level 4 story can offer, huh?" Judai wondered as he picked up the card that was sitting in front of Sho, the Level 4 **Earth Bound Spirit**, before placing it face-down. "You're up, Kazuma."

The Persona Duelist stared at the deck on the table as he recalled the conversation he had in his room earlier that evening.

* * *

**[Flashback]**

_"Judai and the others invited me for a game tonight," Kazuma told his sister as the two stood just outside the latter's room. "Wanna come along?"_

"_Yeah! Sounds like fun!" Naomi replied as she closed and locked the door behind her and the two set off for the Osiris Dorm. "So, what's the game supposed to be?"_

"_Apparently the rule is the higher the Level of the Monster you draw, the scarier your story has to be."_

_"Sounds interesting. Are you going to tell them?" she asked, causing Kazuma's body to tense for a brief second._

_"I…" the Persona Duelist wondered, but then groaned as he thought it over._

"_Maybe if you tell the others, it could help you get over it." Naomi suggested._

_"I think I will… but only if I draw a strong enough Monster." Kazuma finally said._

**[Flashback End]**

* * *

Kazuma then drew the top card of the deck and turned it over. After looking at the card, the Persona Duelist let out a sigh of slight irritation before placing the card face-up on the table for the others to see.

The card was the Level 10 Yami Demon Monster, **Tragoedia**.

"Whoa, a Level 10!" Judai said ecstatically. "This is gonna be great!"

However, Kazuma and Naomi both shared the same face of concern. The Persona Duelist shuffled in his seat, which didn't go unnoticed by Hayato, "Kazuma-san? If you don't feel like telling a story, you don't have to." Even though Hayato felt quite relieved at the thought of not having to sit through a Level 10 horror story, he also felt worried about how his new friend was acting.

Kazuma shook his head, "No, I'm going to tell it." The other three boys gave Kazuma their full attention as the Persona Duelist cleared his throat and glanced at Naomi one last time.

"There used to be a little boy who lived in Domino City." He began. "This little boy was normal, like any other kid his age. That is…"

"Go on!" Judai urged, getting excited again.

"… That is, until he was eight years old." Kazuma continued. "On a normal night like any other, the little boy and his family had gone out to dinner, and later that night, after they'd gotten back home, the boy started feeling uneasy. His parents asked him what was wrong, but before he could answer…" Kazuma paused, feeling uncomfortable, but continuing nonetheless.

"… A demon emerged from his body." He said flatly. The others' eyes widened, excluding Naomi. "The demon emerged from within his very soul. The boy was scared, he didn't know what the monster was; he didn't know _how_ it appeared; he didn't know _why_ it had appeared. Unable to control it, the boy watched helplessly as the demon attacked his parents with murderous intent…" Kazuma swallowed hard.

"… He began to cry and sob, begging the demon over and over to stop hurting his mom and dad…!" Kazuma continued, unaware that he had been gradually raising his voice the entire time, and that his eyes had widened in a way that left the others uneasy. "… But it was no use… He couldn't control it, and before the boy knew it, his parents were dead, brutally murdered by the demon…!"

Everyone else didn't know what to say. To them, this seemed a bit extreme for a Level 10 horror story, but didn't voice any objections.

"The boy… He was left to stare at the corpses of his dead parents, unsure of where that demon had gone." Kazuma continued. "He couldn't stop crying and saying over and over, 'Gomennasai**(1)**! Gomennasai! Gomennasai! Gomennasai!'-" Kazuma jumped with a start when he felt someone place a hand on his shoulder. He turned to find it was Naomi, who had a look of worry on her face. Everyone else was also looking at the Persona Duelist.

"You alright, Kazuma-san?" Hayato asked.

"Yeah, you look like you saw a ghost or something." Judai added.

"Yeah… yeah… I'm fine…" Kazuma replied after a second, sighing to calm himself.

"What are you all doing-nya?" the voice of Professor Daitokuji asked, to which all five students turned to see the Professor was standing right behind Judai and Kazuma with Pharaoh in his arms.

Sho had fallen out of his seat as Judai clutched the table while Hayato scurried back to the other side of the room.

"You scared us!" Naomi yelped.

"Please don't scare us like that…" Judai said, his voice trembling a little.

"Professor Daitokuji!" Sho whined.

"Huh?" the dorm leader wondered as a sweatdrop appeared on his head.

"Professor, we're playing a game where you tell a scary story equal to the Level of the card you draw," Sho explained as he sat back up and adjusted his glasses.

"That sounds like fun-nya! Now, let's see here… I'll do it too…" Daitokuji said, wanting to get in on the fright-fest as he picked up the top card and turned it over, revealing the rare and powerful Level 12 **Five God Dragon**!

"T-There it is! A Level 12!" Judai exclaimed.

"Please give us the best you've got, sir!" Sho said, edging on the Professor as the dark-haired man laughed a little.

"Come to think of it, are you aware that there is an abandoned dorm deep within this island-nya?" Daitokuji asked.

"Abandoned dorm?" Judai repeated.

"Yes. Apparently, it was a dorm for the academy's honor students long ago, but… every single student in that dorm went missing-nya," Daitokuji explained.

"Really?" Sho asked.

"I heard they were doing all sorts of research concerning the Games of Darkness in that dorm-nya," Daitokuji answered.

"G-Games of Darkness?!" Hayato repeated.

"I'm referring to horrible games that were activated by legendary items-nya," Daitokuji explained, only to earn a scoff from Judai.

"The Millennium Items, right?" Kazuma asked, already getting bored of the story. "But it's all just superstition, isn't it?"

"I don't know if it's true, either-nya," Daitokuji confessed with a laugh before adjusting his glasses. "By the time I came to this academy, that dorm had been made off-limits-nya." The tired meow of Pharaoh then caught the attention of all five humans in the room. "It's about time we get back to our rooms-nya," Daitokuji said as he got up from a stool he had pulled over. "Well then, good night."

"Yes, sir…" the three Osiris and two Ra students said reluctantly as Daitokuji walked outside.

"Man, I wonder if there's really a place like that on this island," Sho said.

"Sounds fun! Let's go take a look tomorrow night!" Judai said enthusiastically.

"Huh?"

"I'm a bit scared, but I'd like to go, too," Hayato said as he snuck up behind Sho, scaring the blue-haired Osiris once he turned around and saw his chubby roommate.

"I wouldn't mind seeing the place," Naomi added.

"All right! It's settled!" Judai cheered.

"It's settled…!" Hayato agreed, but was still a little scared from the story.

"Yeah…" Sho groaned, not entirely sure about the idea.

However, the Osiris and Ra students were not clued in on the fact that someone was eavesdropping on their night of fun.

"Bravo! The Games of Darkness! I almost forgot about that approach!" Professor Chronos happily mused to himself. _'If I use those rumors to make the dropout boy disappear, no one will suspect a thing!'_

* * *

Meanwhile, in a back alley of Domino City, a duel was currently ending as fog crept around the field. A large man wearing a black trenchcoat and mask lifted up a gold item as light shone from it. The man's opponent, another man with no hair and wearing glasses, was clutching his chest as though he were in pain.

"This is a Game of Darkness…" the man said in pain as he looked into the eye of the golden item.

"Take this. Mind Crush!" the man with the mask shouted as a bright flash of white emitted from the gold item.

The man's opponent raised his arms to block out the light, but was unsuccessful before losing consciousness and collapsing to the ground.

"You shall leave all of your rare cards here," the large man said to his fallen opponent as he put the gold item into his coat before walking forward. "They are no longer of use to you, anyway." However, before the man could take the cards, his phone started to ring. He then stopped to answer it. "Yes, I am the Dark Duelist, Titan," the large man answered. "Duel Academia?"

* * *

The following day at Duel Academia, Judai, Sho, Naomi, and Kazuma were in Professor Daitokuji's class, the former two sleeping and snoring, earning glares from a few nearby students in the near-empty classroom. But from out in the hall, Professor Chronos was watching them through a crack in the door.

_'Sleep well, now,' _Chronos muttered to himself with a laugh and a grin on his face. _'It will be the last dream you ever have, anyway. Totocalcio…'_

* * *

Later that night, Professor Chronos was standing at the docks, waiting for Titan to arrive. When the blonde faculty member heard approaching footsteps, he turned to see the large, dark-clothed man approach him.

"Oh, you must be the self-proclaimed Dark Duelist," Chronos greeted.

"Let's get right to discussing my appearance fee," Titan said as a thick fog poured out from his coat. "My appearance fee is a flat rate, it has nothing to do with whatever circumstances the client might have. It's always worth three months of the clients' salary."

"I think that's _very_ related to your client's circumstances…" Chronos said, his eyes bugged out. "Whatever… More importantly, will you really get the job done?" The fog from Titan's coat had begun spread to cover the entire dock as the man spoke.

"I'm a pro, I never turn my back to my enemy," Titan answered.

"Yokobai? Rarabai?" Chronos muttered nonsense while circling the men, to which Titan kept turning to face the faculty member.

"Just leave it to me..." Titan said as Chronos walked out from behind him again. "You just come when the duel is over." The fog then started to pull back, taking Titan with it as he continued to face Professor Chronos.

"He isn't turning his back…" Chronos said, rather impressed. "My, he is a professional."

* * *

"Still, I wasn't expecting that Hayato would show up with us," Judai said as he and the other two Osiris students and the Akasaka twins walked through the forest towards the location of the abandoned dorm, Hayato carrying a backpack as well as the Akasaka twins, who also had their decks at their waists like always. "You even think showing up to class is a hassle."

"It's not that I don't like staying home or studying, it's just…" Hayato started.

"Just what?" Judai asked.

"I don't like classes that only teach you how to win duels…" Hayato answered.

"Is there any other way to study dueling, besides how to win?" Sho asked.

"Um… I'm sure there are! Take the Games of Darkness, for example," Hayato said.

"The Games of Darkness, huh?" Judai repeated, getting bored of hearing the subject while Kazuma stayed silent.

As the students approached the corroding dorm, Judai's light stopped at a single rose laying against one of the stone pillars of the gate.

"A flower…?" Kazuma said curiously.

"This looks scary!" Sho whined, getting freaked out already. "Big Bro, I think we should just give up!"

"What are you talking about?" Judai asked, wondering about Sho's sudden fear of the area even after agreeing to go with them. "How can we give up after coming this far?!"

"No one's forcing you to be here, Sho. You can head back if you'd like," Naomi said calmly to the shorter Osiris until the snapping of a branch caught the boy's attention.

"I-It's here!" Sho and Hayato yelled in fear while Judai turned and pointed his flashlight at the source of the sound to reveal it to be…

"Asuka!" Judai said, surprised to see the Obelisk girl, but soon felt immense pain on his back from Sho and Hayato having jumped on him.

"I've heard of you… you're Tenjoin Asuka, right?" Kazuma said. The Obelisk girl nodded.

"A-Asuka-san!" Sho greeted, but was also surprised to see the girl. "What are you doing here?"

"That's my line. What are all of _you_ doing here?" Asuka countered.

"We're doing a little night exploration," Judai answered casually.

"None of you know about how many students have gone missing here?" Asuka asked.

"I don't believe in that superstition," Judai waved off Asuka's warning.

"The stories of this dorm are true. It's not a place to come to half in sport," Asuka said. "Besides, it's supposed to be off-limits. If the academy knows about this, it'll raise some noise."

"We wouldn't be exploring if we were afraid of that," Judai said with a grin on his face.

"Listen to me, seriously!" Asuka shouted.

"What? Stop giving us such a hard time," Judai said, wondering why Asuka was getting so angry. "And you never answered our question! What are you doing here?"

"Do what you want…" Asuka said with an irritated sigh before turning around to leave.

"Asuka-san…" Naomi called out, worried about the Obelisk Queen, to which she stopped after taking a few steps.

"My brother was one of the students that disappeared here," Asuka said, answering Judai's question before Kazuma looked back at the rose lying on the ground.

_'So, that's it. Asuka set that rose over there…' _Kazuma thought to himself.

"Big Bro, about what Asuka-san just said…" Sho muttered. "I thought the stuff about this place was made up…"

"Well, we'll know once we go in. Let's go," Judai said before he, Hayato and Kazuma stepped over the chain that acted as a gate. "You waiting there?"

"Huh?!" Sho shouted, just now noticing the three boys were near the door of the building before looking around to make sure no one else was around. "Wait up! I'm coming, too!"

Sho then jumped over the chain and ran after his friends. What the boys didn't know was that Asuka was watching them from behind a tree. When she turned around to leave, a large shadow loomed over her. In her mind she wanted to scream, but she was frozen in fear by the shadow that her body wouldn't listen before she was knocked unconscious.

* * *

Inside of the rundown dorm, the five Duelists looked around the rooms after Judai handed out an extra flashlight to each of them. Currently they were in a room with some carvings on the walls.

"It may be all dusty, but it's a major difference from Osiris Red, huh?" Judai asked, impressed with the inside of the dorm. "Wanna move here instead?"

"Cut that out, Big Bro! I absolutely won't!" Sho argued.

"Same here," Hayato said, agreeing with the smaller Osiris. "D-Did they really play Yami-no-Gëmu**(2)** here?" The group of five checked some of the plaques along the walls with carvings depicting the seven Millenium Items.

"T-That's just superstition!" Sho said with fear in his voice.

"These are the… Millenium Items, right?" Kazuma wondered.

"Huh… there were seven of them…" Judai muttered to himself as he looked at another carving, but when he turned to check something else, his flashlight landed on a picture that caught Judai's attention.

The picture hanging on the wall was of a young man in an Obelisk Blue uniform and brown hair that stopped at his shoulders. Written in the bottom corner of the picture was "FUBUKI 10 JOIN".

"Is this…?" Judai wondered as he walked closer to the picture to make sure he wasn't seeing things while focusing on the name.

* * *

Somewhere else, deep in the dorm, Asuka slowly opened her eyes and found her arms were tied together at the wrists.

"What's this?" Asuka shouted, hoping someone would answer, to which she heard laughing before finding out she was placed inside a coffin and even her legs were tied together at her ankles.

"You're going to be the bait that will lure out Yuki Judai," a voice echoed through the room, barely answering Asuka's question.

"Who's there?" Asuka asked the voice.

Instead of the voice answering back, Asuka was met with a blinding flash of light, causing her to scream as she closed her eyes to try and block out the light.

* * *

The five Duelists stopped looking around when they heard a scream echo through the building.

"Big Bro! That voice just now…!" Sho said.

"I know! Let's go!" Judai replied before all five of them ran down the hallway. Just then, Naomi stopped short as she heard a voice off in the distance. She couldn't make out who it was, but she felt drawn to it.

"What's…?" She wondered aloud as she found herself suddenly turning from the path the others were on. Her eyes then became blank and lifeless as she continued to walk towards another section of the dorm.

* * *

The four remaining duelists rushed into a room filled with furniture covered in sheets. However, as they aimed their flashlights at the floor, they saw a portion of it that looked disturbed, seemingly recently. The group then ran down a nearby flight of stairs until they came into another area where they noticed a card lying on the floor. Judai then picked it up before gasping.

"This is… **Etoile Cyber**! It's Asuka's card!" Judau said, wondering why it was out of the Obelisk girl's possession.

"Look! There's marks of something being dragged that way!" Hayato said as he pointed his flashlight towards another hallway.

"Asuka!" Judai shouted as he put the card in his pocket and ran down the designated hallway.

"Asuka-san!" Sho yelled as he and Hayato ran after Judai.

"This can't be good." Kazuma muttered. "What do you think, Naomi-" He stopped short as he realized that the female Akasaka was missing. "Naomi?" Kazuma began frantically looking around. "Where'd she go?"

"Wasn't she just with us?" Sho asked. Kazuma then looked down at his watch and almost had a heart attack when he saw the time.

11: 57 PM

"Shit!" Kazuma swore as he immediately ran back in the direction he and the others had gone.

"Hey! Kazuma-san!" Hayato called after the red-haired boy. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to save my sister, that's what!" Kazuma snapped back as he disappeared from sight.

"K-Kazuma!" Sho called out.

* * *

Kazuma ran back through the hallway the group had come from, looking around for his sister in a panic.

"Naomi! Naomi!" Kazuma called out worriedly. He looked at his watch again; only a minute left until midnight. Only a minute left until those monsters he had fought would appear. "Naomi! What the hell… Where could she have gone…?" Kazuma stopped to try and catch his breath. _'This is bad… Naomi doesn't have the same power I have, so if those things show up again, there's no way she can survive.'_

Just then, as the minute hand on Kazuma's watch hit 12, an eerie green light bathed his surroundings, telling him that strange phenomenon had occurred again, as he'd thought.

"Dammit!" Kazuma swore as he took off again.

"_Aniki was the only one… who gave my life meaning…" _A voice suddenly spoke up. Kazuma stopped short as he recognized the voice.

"Naomi…?" Kazuma wondered.

"_He's so strong, and he can do anything… He has what I don't…" _Naomi's voice continued. _"Compared to him, I'm…"_

"What's she talking about…?" Kazuma wondered in shock.

"_Kazuma protects me, he gives me a reason to keep going…" _Naomi added. _"Without him, I wouldn't be able to do anything on my own..."_

"Naomi!" Kazuma called out, looking around for the source of his sister's voice.

"_He was the reason I was able to keep going all these years…"_ The female Akasaka continued. _"I've always needed him to help me…"_

"Naomi…" Kazuma said as he clenched his fist. "I…" Suddenly, the male Akasaka heard something behind him. Turning around, he saw a group of black shapes crawling across the ground, which seemed to lift themselves off the ground and undergo a transformation. Once the transformation was complete the black blob-like shapes had become large spherical creatures with no features aside from a greatly exaggerated moth, as well as a large tongue that accompanied it.

"More of these things…" Kazuma mused. He was forced to dodge out of the way as one of the creatures flew at him in an attempt to ram the boy.

Kazuma managed to roll out of the way, only to find the creatures charging him again as he got back up. Just then, a blue card covered in bluish flames appeared in front of the Persona duelist's face.

"Persona!" Kazuma yelled. Growling, he took the card and crushed it in his hand, calling forth Gemini, who blocked the monsters' attempt at attacking the Ra student. The Persona then raised its hand skyward before aiming it at the monsters. Electricity crackled within its palm before it surged outwards at its targets, killing them in seconds.

Noting the corridor was clear of enemies, Kazuma ran forward to continue his search.

As the Ra student ran throughout the building, he was forced to fight more of the black creatures. Nonetheless, he fended them off quickly. Along the way, the Persona duelist had encountered strange cards floating in front of his face after a successful battle. Many of the cards depicted various creatures, and whenever he touched one of the cards, he felt as if something had become a part of his very being. Though he was unsure of what these cards meant, he pushed it to the back of his mind so he could complete the task at hand.

Finally, Kazuma made his way to the dining hall of the dorm, and pushed the doors open.

_**[BGM - "Border of Insanity", from the Persona 4 OST]**_

As he ran inside, he found none other than his sister standing on the other side of the room, but as he got closer, Kazuma was shocked to see that there was an exact copy of the female Akasaka. the main difference between the two, however, was the presence of glowing yellow eyes in the second girl, and a dark aura that seemed to seep off of her.

"Naomi!" Kazuma called out as he ran towards his sister, who turned and beamed as soon as she saw the Persona duelist.

"Aniki!" Naomi exclaimed. "Thank god you're here!"

_**"****Aw, how sweet! Your big bad brother is here to protect you!"**_The second Naomi chimed in mockingly. _**"Just another reason to depend on him..."**_

"N-No, that's not true. He's my brother, I don't depend on him!" Naomi argued.

_**"****What a load of crap! You've always depended on him since you were kids." **_the second Naomi retorted. _**"Always clinging to him like a lost puppy out of the fear that you'll lose him too."**_

"No, that's not true!" The female Akasaka protested.

_**"****'****I'm too weak to do anything on my own. I'm so glad that I have my brother to keep me going.' That's what you're really thinking."**_ The second Naomi said mockingly. _**"And you know why? Because I AM you!"**_

"N-No! Shut up! You're lying! You…!" Naomi shouted. "You're not me!" The other girl began to laugh, softly at first, but it grew louder by the second.

_**"****Go on! Say it again, I dare you!" **_The girl shouted as the dark aura around her intensified. Naomi grit her teeth.

"I said you're not me! There's no way you are!" she yelled, though it only caused the other girl to laugh more psychotically.

_**"****You're right… I'm my own person now… I'm me and no one else!" **_The second Naomi said as her aura engulfed her body completely. Kazuma then glared at the false girl as her true form was revealed.

What he now saw was a tall, feminine, grey mannequin with long red hair done in loose pigtails, wearing a simple black dress, and strings attached at the wrists and ankles. Although the strings seemed to be attached to nothing else, they held up the figure's limbs and operated them, as if by an unseen puppeteer.

_**[BGM - "I'll Face Myself ~Battle~", from the Persona 4 OST]**_

_**"****I am a Shadow… the true self…" **_The new figure said, still emulating Naomi's voice. Kazuma stepped in front of his sister's body and glared at the Shadow, who simply laughed. _**"What do you think you're doing? Trying to protect the "real" me? What a joke!" **_And with that, the puppet waved its hand in a swiping motion, causing a cluster of icicles to materialize in midair for a moment before being fired off like a machine gun.

"Naomi!" Kazuma quickly dived to the side and pushed Naomi and himself out of the line of fire. "You alright?" The Akasaka girl simply nodded as the two of them stood up, visibly shaken and afraid of what was happening.

Kazuma stepped forward and closed his eyes, concentrating, willing Gemini to appear once more. The burning tarot card he had come to recognize drifted down in front of the Ra's face as he opened his eyes and crushed the card with his clenched fist.

"Persona!" Kazuma shouted as Gemini appeared next to him. The cosmic figure flew forward and began exchanging blows with Shadow Naomi.

"Aniki…" Naomi began.

"I'll take care of this. Don't worry." Kazuma replied just as Shadow Naomi landed a blow to Gemini's gut, which also sent it flying back. "Gh!" Kazuma suddenly held his midsection as he felt pain course through it.

_**"****You did a good job of acting like everything was alright, but in reality you're just terrified of losing **_**him**_** and being left alone!" **_Shadow Naomi said as she continued to trade attacks with Kazuma's Persona.

"No…! That's not me! You don't know me at all!" Naomi shouted back as she tried running for the doors leading into the corridor again, but the Shadow was too quick and flew to block the Akasaka girl's path while materializing more icicles. Gemini quickly flew to intercept the attack as the projectiles were fired once more, causing Kazuma to grunt as he felt the damage translate to him. "Kazuma!"

_**"I know everything about you…"**_ Shadow Naomi continued. _**"I know just how desperate you really are!"**_

"Shut up!" Naomi yelled as tears welled in her eyes.

_**"****Oh, but that's not all there is too it, is there?" **_the Shadow went on. _**"You've grown attached to him, so you cling to him constantly like you can't live without him!"**_

"No! You're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong!" Naomi shouted as she clutched her head and fell to her knees.

_**"****And now I'm gonna become my own person for good!" **_Shadow Naomi added as she prepared a third icicle attack.

"Gemini!" Kazuma shouted as the Persona managed to knock the Shadow into the far wall, interrupting the attack. Gemini then raised its hand and aimed it at the Shadow as lightning crackled within the palm. The gathered power then surged outwards in a beam, hitting Shadow Naomi dead in the chest. The Shadow screamed in pain as black mist enveloped her body, leaving her in her human form when it dissipated.

_**[BGM - "I'll face Myself", from the Persona 4 OST]**_

"I-Is it…" Naomi began as the Shadow fell to the ground, but slowly got back up. "No… I'm not…"

"Naomi," Kazuma spoke up. "You care about me because I'm your brother, right?"

"Yeah, but-" Naomi started.

"Then isn't that proof enough?" Kazuma asked as he helped the girl up. Naomi looked at her brother for a second before replying.

"Yeah… I guess it is." She said, smiling slightly. Naomi turned towards her now-stationary Shadow and walked towards it. "I guess I knew it along along deep down, I just didn't want to admit it to myself…"

_**"****..."**_ Shadow Naomi remained silent.

"I wanted so desperately to stay with Kazuma that I started depending on him." Naomi continued. "But still, the fact I care about my own family won't change." By this point, Naomi was standing in front of her Shadow. She placed a hand on the Shadow's shoulder and smiled. "I'm a part of you… And you're a part of me."

The Shadow smiled contentedly as blue light engulfed its form and it vanished. In its place, however, was a new figure; nearly identical to Gemini, but with a more slender, feminine frame.

The figure looked down at Naomi, as if acknowledging her presence, then vanished in a burst of bluish motes of stardust. In her place was a tarot card that faintly glowed with a bluish light. The card was one Kazuma recognized, which depicted a court jester carrying a scepter surrounded by various animals. The card floated down into Naomi's hands before vanishing as well.

"I-Is this my…" Naomi wondered.

"Persona." Kazuma finished. Naomi turned to face her brother.

"So… I have the same power as you now?" She asked. Kazuma nodded. Naomi thenfelt her legs give out from under her as she fell to the floor. Kazuma managed to catch her just in time.

"Whoa, are you okay?" Kazuma asked.

"Yeah… I'm fine… Just a little tired." Naomi replied.

"Well then let's head back to the dorm." Kazuma suggested as he helped Naomi up. And with that, the twins left the abandoned dorm and made their way back to the Ra dorm.

* * *

**(1)**: "I'm sorry"

**(2)**: Game of Darkness


	7. Turn 6

**Per-So-Na! GX: Eleven Stars**

**Turn 6**

_**Hey everyone, sup? It's your beloved Master of the Wild Card back for another chapter of Per-So-Na! GX: Eleven Stars. Just wanted to say sorry for the slow uploads, but school is keeping me busy for the time being (as old as that excuse is). But hey, it's my senior year and with luck I'll have far more time to write come May 2016. Also, pay no mind to any fuck-ups I make during the duel in this chapter. I'm not very good at using Harpies properly so that may contribute quite a bit.**_

_**Anyways, on with the chapter!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. I only own the Persona and Avatar archetypes, and my OC's Akasaka Kazuma, Akasaka Naomi, Fuuchoin Chiyu, Tachibana Mamoru, and Hyodo Issei. The Azure Guardian owns the Sengoku archetype. All other rights go to the respective creators.**_

_**NOTE: I have changed the Digital Devil/Atma Avatar archetypes to have a more unified name. They are now the Avatar Tuner/Atma Avatar archetypes, or collectively the Avatar archetype. This won't become evident until later chapters.**_

* * *

The next day after the incident a the Abandoned Dorm, the Ethics Board of Duel Academia had come to take in Judai and Sho, where the two Osiris students were issued a Punishment Duel, with the stakes being expulsion if they lost.

Over the next couple of days, Judai had managed to get a duel with Sho's older brother Ryo, the Kaiser of Duel Academia, to boost the shorter Osiris boy's confidence, but lost due to the Kaiser's powerful _Cyber End Dragon_. During the commotion, Hayato's father had come to Duel Academia in order to pull his son out of school due to his poor grades. Hayato dueled his father for his chance to stay at the school, but lost nonetheless. Even so, Hayato was allowed to stay at the school.

Though both Osiris boys lost their duels, Sho had gathered the courage to go through with being the _Elemental HERO _duelist's partner for the Punishment Duel.

The Osiris students eventually had their Punishment Duel, where they were surprised to be facing the well-known Meikyu Brothers, but regardless, came out as the winners.

* * *

Kazuma awoke feeling completely refreshed, and after getting himself ready, he grabbed his bag and left his room, stopping in front of Naomi's room just as the door opened. As Naomi stepped out of her room, dressed in her uniform, she saw Kazuma and smiled.

"Morning." she greeted. Kazuma nodded.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as they began walking to class. "You've been out for a few days, after all."

"A lot better, actually. After everything that happened the other day, I feel like I can think more clearly." Naomi replied. "And…"

"Hm?" Kazuma wondered.

"And… That's why I want to work to better myself." she continued.

"What do you mean?" Kazuma queried.

"That night… You saw that other part of me… the one I kept hidden for so long…" Naomi answered as her eyes cast downward slightly. "So I want to work to get rid of those flaws. I want to be different from the weak little girl I was back then." Kazuma looked at his sister and smiled.

"I think that's great, Naomi." Kazuma said.

"And it's all because of you." Naomi added as she looked towards her twin. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even be here right now. So… thanks."

_**SMASH!**_

Just then, Kazuma heard the familiar sound of glass shattering within his mind. Seconds later, time seemed to stop as a card covered in blue flames descended from the sky before coming to rest in front of Kazuma's face. The flames subsided somewhat, revealing a card that depicted a blue cup.

"_**Thou art I… I am thou…"**_ spoke the voice that Kazuma had come to recognize. _**"Thou hast established a new bond… It unveils thy inner strength. Thou shalt henceforth have the ability to access the power of the Cup Arcana and the life it brings about..." **_The voice then faded as the card shattered into a mass of blue stardust which settled over the pair.

As time resumed its normal flow, Kazuma looked at his sister, who was unaware of such. _'I thought I knew everything about her, but I guess there are always new things to learn.'_

"How have Judai and Sho been since the Punishment Duel?" Naomi asked seeing as Kazuma had seen them last.

"They're definitely in high spirits." Kazuma answered.

"Still, part of me almost feels bad that we just left them like that." Naomi added.

"You mean back at the Abandoned Dorm?" Kazuma wondered. The _Avatar _duelist nodded.

"But given the circumstances... at least we were able to get out of there." Naomi said.

"Akasaka-san. What a surprise."

Kazuma and Naomi turned to see Fuuchoin Chiyu walking towards them from another direction. The Student Council President smiled politely as she crossed paths with the twins.

"President." Kazuma greeted in slight surprise. "On your way to class?" Chiyu nodded.

"I was actually hoping I'd see you again." she added. "I was wondering… if you two could meet me somewhere tomorrow night."

"Meet you? Where?" Naomi questioned.

"Down by the beach should be fine." Chiyu replied. "Maybe just before midnight?"

"I guess we could…" Kazuma replied, unsure of what the President was getting at.

"Great! I'll see the two of you tomorrow night then." Chiyu said as she hurried off to class. fter the Obelisk girl had gone out of hearing range, Naomi turned towards her brother with a perplexed look on her face.

"How come you took her offer?" Naomi wondered.

"I'm not sure how to put it… but I'm getting a weird feeling from her." Kazuma answered as the pair continued to walk.

"Hm?" Naomi asked.

"I'm not sure… But I'm curious." Kazuma shrugged. Naomi nodded in understanding as they neared the main building.

* * *

Later that night, a trio of boys were quietly rowing a small boat across a lake towards the Obelisk girls' dorm. One of the three boys, in particular, was Hyodo Issei, who had an eager grin on his face. His two companions, a boy with short dark hair and a pair of rounded glasses on his face, and a boy with most of his hair completely buzzed off, also had grins on their faces, anticipating what awaited them on the other side of the lake.

Minutes later, the trio docked their boat and crept towards the dorm. Using a lock cutter to get through the chains that kept the gate closed, the trio snuck inside and continued to remain stealthy as they hopped between bushes to remain hidden.

"Alright guys, we should be right next to the bathhouse." Issei whispered as he and his two companions stopped behind a bush next to a smaller structure separate from the dorm building.

"Wow, Asuka-san, I'm so jealous of your awesome figure!" a girl's voice echoed from the bathhouse.

"Stop staring at me so much. It's embarrassing…" Asuka's voice replied.

"Momoe, it looks like your breasts have gotten bigger!" The voice of the first girl continued, evidently choosing a new target for the conversation.

"H-Hey, Junko-san! What are you touching?!" The voice of another girl, presumably Momoe, cried out.

"Jackpot!" Issei said as he pumped his fist.

"This is gonna' be sweet!" replied Motohama, the bespectacled boy.

"A front-row seat to what can only be called a work of beauty!" added Matsuda, the mostly-bald boy, as he produced a small camera.

* * *

Inside the bathhouse, Tenjoin Asuka and her friends Junko and Momoe were soaking in the water as the latter two girls began talking, having a conversation on the new male students.

"Anyways, it looks like most of the boys that enrolled this year aren't very good." Junko said. "Especially that Yuki Judai! He's noisy, crass, and cocky! And that Akasaka Kazuma's no better! All he ever does is hang around his sister! It's like they're attached at the hip! Right, Asuka-san?"

"I don't care much about them." Asuka replied as she washed her face with a towel before turning her back to her friends, not wishing to be part of the conversation.

"Hey, Asuka-san!" Momoe said, trying to get her friend's attention. When she saw that it had no effect, she shrugged.

"Chiyu-senpai, what do you think?" Junko called out to one of the far ends of the bath, where the green-haired girl sat, away from the other girls. She looked towards Junko is surprise.

"Oh, I-I'm not sure really." she replied nervously.

"Hm… That Misawa from Ra Yellow is quite the man, isn't he?" Momoe asked, changing the subject slightly. Just then, the three girls saw a small flash coming from the opposite end of the bathhouse. "Eh? What was that?"

* * *

"Crap! They figured us out!" Issei gasped before glaring towards Matsuda. "What the hell, man?"

"Sorry, I forgot to turn the flash off of this thing." the bald boy panicked.

"We gotta get out now boys!" Motohama said as he and Matsuda stood up and bolted for the gate.

"You guys suck!" Issei hissed back as he also stood up and made his way to the gate.

"Who's there?" asked a girl's voice. Issei turned around to see a girl walking out of the bathhouse in her pajamas.

"Oh no!" He panicked.

"A peeping tom!" the girl cried out as several other girls came outside wearing either their pajamas or their uniforms.

"Pervert!" many of them shouted towards Issei.

"This is bad! If I don't get out of here now, I'll be expelled for sure!" the brown-haired boy muttered. However, just as he got close to the gate leading out of the grounds of the girls' dorm, he was shocked to see Junko and Momoe already somehow in his path, blocking him from getting through the gate. "Wait, how did-" But before Issei could finish his sentence, several girls swarmed around him, holding him down to the ground while others tied his arms with rope. "H-Hey!"

"There's nowhere left to run, you pervert!" Junko said as she and Momoe stood above Issei with nothing more than towels wrapped around their bodies and their arms folded over their chests.

"Hey, c'mon ladies… can't we just put this behind us and forget it ever happened?" Issei asked nervously.

"You caught him?"

All the girls turned to see Asuka and Chiyu, both having changed back into their uniforms, walking towards the gathering.

"We sure did. And now he's actually asking us to cut him some slack!" Momoe answered, directing her explanation at Asuka.

"Cut him some slack after he snuck in here to peep? Seriously?" Asuka asked as she simply shook her head. She then looked towards Chiyu. "Well, you're the Student Council President, so I guess you're in a better position to decide what we do." The green-haired girl looked back at the Obelisk Queen before looking towards the restrained Issei.

"I-I think…" she began. "I think we should have him duel to decide what happens."

"Eh?!" Many of the girls gasped.

"President, with all due respect, do you think that's a good idea?" Asuka queried.

"I-I just think that this way he'll at least have a fighting chance." Chiyu answered. "A-At any rate, this will let us make a decision quickly." Asuka pondered the answer for a moment.

"I guess it couldn't hurt…" she finally said before looking down towards Issei. "Is that alright with you?"

"Yeah!" Issei replied as hope returned to his eyes. "That was a close one…" Reluctantly, the girls untied Issei and helped him up. "So… which one of you am I dueling?"

"I will!" Junko spoke up. Everyone looked towards her in surprise. "I've had it with all these peepings, so I'm fighting back this time!"

"Looks like that problem's solved." Momoe said as Junko went to go change into her uniform while also grabbing her deck and Duel Disk. Momoe offered to loan Issei her Duel Disk for the duel, which the brown-haired boy accepted. Minutes later, both duelists were standing next to the lake with their Duel Disks at the ready.

"Here are the conditions for the duel." Junko explained. "If I win, then you get reported, hands down. But if you win, then we'll let you leave and not a word of what happened tonight will leave this dorm."

"Just like my duel with Yuki Judai…" Asuka muttered.

"Ready?" Junko said as she inserted her deck into the Duel Disk, causing it to whirr to life.

"I'm always ready!" Issei replied as he did the same.

"DUEL!"

**Junko LP: 4000  
Issei LP: 4000**

"Watashi no tan! Draw!" Junko called out as she took the first turn. "I summon _Harpie Queen_!" Appearing from a portal in the ground was a woman with wings in place of her arms and birdlike claws as her hands, long green hair done into a long ponytail, and a rather revealing dark blue outfit that barely left anything to the pervert's imagination.

**Harpie Queen  
LV 4  
Kaze  
Winged Beast/Effect  
ATK [ 1900 ] / DEF 1200**

"Next I activate _Dual Summon _to summon _Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon_!" Junko continued as a small red dragon appeared on the Obelisk girl's field.

**Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon  
LV 4  
Kaze  
Dragon/Effect  
ATK [ 1200 ] / DEF 600**

"_Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon's _Monster effect!" Junko explained. "Since I control 1 _Harpie Lady_, you can only attack my _Baby Dragon_!"

"But how?" Issei questioned. "You only summoned _Harpie Queen_!" Junko smirked.

"_Harpie Queen's _Monster effect treats her as _Harpie Lady _while on the field or in the Cemetery." she added. "I set a card. Tan endo."

"Fine… If I can't go straight for the queen, then I'll force my way through the dragon! Ore no tan! Draw!" Issei said as he began his turn. "Since you control Monsters and I don't, I can Special Summon _Evil Queen Akeno _from my hand!"

Appearing from a portal in the ground was a young woman with a buxom figure with very long black hair and violet eyes. Her hair was tied in a long ponytail, reaching all the way down to her legs with two strands sticking out from the top and sloping backwards, an orange ribbon keeping it all in place. Her outfit consisted of what appeared to be a type of school uniform; a white long-sleeved, button-down shirt with vertical linings, black ribbon on the collar, black shoulder cape and matching button-down corset, and a magenta skirt with white accents. Many of the girls watching the duel were both awed by her beauty, yet found it typical that a pervert like Issei would have such a card in his deck.

**Evil Queen Akeno  
LV 5  
Yami  
Angel/Effect  
ATK [ 2000 ] / DEF 1300**

"_Akeno's_ Monster effect!" Issei continued. "When she's Normal or Special Summoned, I can Normal Summon an extra time this turn!" The perverted Duelist then took two cards from his hand and placed them onto his Duel Disk. "I summon _Evil Knight Kiba _and _Evil Bishop Asia_!" _Akeno _then produced two slips of paper and threw them to the ground, causing two glowing red circles to appear, which gave way for Issei's next two Monsters.

_Kiba _was a handsome young man with short blond hair, grey eyes, and a mole under his left eye, wearing a uniform that appeared similar to Akeno's but tailored more so to boys, which consisted of a white, long-sleeved dress shirt with a black ribbon on the collar underneath a white-accented black blazer, along with matching black pants and brown dress shoes.

_Asia _was a girl with green eyes and long blonde hair that flowed down to her back with split bangs in front of her forehead and a single strand sticking up and sloping backwards. Her outfit was a school uniform similar to _Akeno's_, albeit with a black sweater vest over her dress shirt in place of the shoulder cape.

**Evil Knight Kiba  
LV 4  
Yami  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK [ 1900 ] / DEF 0**

**Evil Bishop Asia  
LV 4  
Hikari  
Magician/Effect  
ATK 300 / DEF [ 2200 ]**

"_Evil Knight Kiba _attacks _Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon_!" Issei declared, to which a simple black sword appeared in _Kiba's _hands before he charged forward and leaped into the air, bringing the sword down on top of the small dragon, destroying it instantly.

**Junko LP: 4000-3300  
Issei LP: 4000**

"_Evil Queen Akeno _attacks Harpie Queen!" Issei continued as the dark-haired girl's outfit suddenly changed into a white-and-red miko outfit. The girl then raised a hand skyward, and seconds later, a bolt of lightning came crashing down on the _Harpie _Monster, destroying it.

**Junko LP: 3300-3200  
Issei LP: 4000**

"Tan endo." Issei concluded before adding, "And during my End Phase, _Evil Bishop Asia's _effect activates, increasing my Life Points by 400 for each Monster I control." A warm green light emitted from _Asia's _body that washed over Issei, restoring his Life Points.

**Junko LP: 3200  
Issei LP: 4000-5200**

"Watashi no tan! Draw!" Junko called out. "I activate _Treasure Cards from the Heavens_, now we draw until we have six cards!" Both players did as the card instructed, replenishing their hands. "Next I summon _Harpie Channeler_!" Appearing next on the Obelisk girl's field was a black-winged young woman with long orange hair tied up by white ribbons and wearing a white dress with clawed hands and feet.

**Harpie Channeler  
LV 4  
Kaze  
Winged Beast/Effect  
ATK [ 1400 ] / DEF 1300**

"Next I play _Harpie's Hunting Ground_!" Junko continued as she played the Field Magic, causing the landscape to change to a large grassy plain. "This will increase _Harpie Channeler's _ATK by 200!" The orange-haired woman appeared to be more confident from being in her territory, showing her increase in power.

_[Harpie Channeler - ATK 1400-1600]_

"I'm not done yet! I activate _Hysteric Sign_, allowing me to add _Kaleidoscope - Magnificent Doppelgangers - _from my Deck to my hand!" Junko explained as she took out her Deck and looked through until she came to a specific card, taking it out and placing her Deck back into the Duel Disk. "And now I activate it! Since I control a _Harpie Lady_, I'm allowed to Special Summon _Harpie Lady Three Sisters _from my Deck! _Harpie Channeler _is treated as _Harpie Lady _while on the field or in the Cemetery, so she becomes valid for this card's effect." Junko's Deck auto-shuffled until a card stuck out from the top, which the Obelisk took and placed on her Duel Disk, causing the trio of winged young women with clawed hands and feet to appear on the field and stare down Issei, while also being powered up from Junko's Field Magic.

**Harpie Lady Three Sisters  
LV 6  
Kaze  
Winged Beast/Effect  
ATK [ 1950-2150 ] / DEF 2100**

"Next I activate _Resurrection of the Dead _to Special Summon _Harpie Queen _from my Cemetery!" Junko added as the winged woman with long green hair appeared once more, while also receiving power from the Field Magic.

**Harpie Queen  
LV 4  
Kaze  
Winged Beast/Effect  
ATK [ 1900-2100 ] / DEF 1200**

"_Harpie Queen _attacks _Akeno_!" Junko commanded as the green-haired woman rose into the air and swooped down at Issei's Monster, swiping her claws through the girl's body and destroying her instantly.

**Junko LP: 3200  
Issei LP: 5200-5100**

"And _Harpie Lady Three Sisters _attacks _Kiba_!" the Obelisk girl added as her three Harpies swooped down on the blond man repeatedly until he gave in from the continuous attacks and burst apart into pixels.

**Junko LP: 3200  
Issei LP: 5100-4850**

"I set a card face-down. Tan endo." Junko concluded.

"Ore no tan! Draw!" Issei called out as he began his turn. "I activate _Pot of Greed _to draw 2 cards!" After Issei drew his cards, he took another card from his hand. "Then I summon _Keeper of the Red Dragon_!" As the perverted duelist played his card, a young man who bore a strangely great resemblance to Issei appeared, wearing the same clothing as _Kiba_, though his blazer and shirt were both open, revealing a dark red t-shirt underneath.

**Keeper of the Red Dragon  
LV 4  
Yami  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK [ 1500 ] / DEF 1000**

"Next I activate _Summoning Circle_! Since I Normal Summoned a Monster this turn, I can Special Summon up to 2 more _Evil _Monsters from my hand!" Issei explained as he took two more cards from his hand and placed them on his Duel Disk. "I Special Summon _Evil Rook Koneko _and _Evil Rook Rossweisse_!" On cue, two new Monsters appeared on the field.

_Koneko _was a petite girl with short white hair and hazel eyes wearing the same uniform as Issei's other female Monsters, while _Rossweisse _was a beautiful young woman with long, straight silver hair and blue eyes wearing a set of strange white-and-gold armor.

**Evil Rook Koneko  
LV 4  
Yami  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK [ 2100 ] / DEF 1000**

**Evil Rook Rossweisse  
LV 4  
Yami  
Magician/Effect  
ATK [ 2000 ] / DEF 1000**

"Next I Release _Rossweisse_…" Issei said as the armor-clad woman vanished in a flash of red light. "... To Special Summon _Evil King Rias _from my hand!" From another flash of red light, a new Monster took the place of the Magician-Type Monster. This Monster was a beautiful young woman with long red hair and blue eyes wearing the same uniform as _Koneko_. However, the most prominent feature of this Monster was easily her rather large chest, which left many of the spectating girls envious yet annoyed.

**Evil King Rias  
LV 7  
Yami  
Demon/Effect  
ATK [ 2500 ] / DEF 2000**

"N-Nani?!" Junko gasped. "A Level 7 Monster just like that?! But how?"

"Rias' Monster effect." Issei explained. "If I control at least two _Evil _Monsters, I can Release one of them to Special Summon _Rias _from my hand, but she can't attack this turn. Also, she gives all of my _Evil _Monsters an additional 500 ATK. _Keeper of the Red Dragon _is treated as an _Evil _Monster, so he receives the boost too!" Issei's other two Monsters looked towards _Rias _and smiled, knowing that they wouldn't lose with her around.

_[Evil Rook Koneko - ATK 2100-2600]  
[Keeper of the Red Dragon - ATK 1500-2000]_

"Not only that, but my _Keeper _gains another 600 ATK since I control _Rias_." Issei added as the brown-haired young man grew stronger still.

_[Keeper of the Red Dragon - ATK 2000-2600]_

"He made a Level 4 Monster that powerful?!" Some of the girls were gasping.

"_Keeper of the Red Dragon_, attack _Harpie Queen_!" Issei ordered, to which the brown-haired boy ran forward before leaping into the air and bringing his fists together to slam them on top of _Harpie Queen_.

"Trap Card open! _Attack Nullification_!" Junko countered as her set card rose. "This negates your attack and ends the Battle Phase!" A clear barrier appeared around _Harpie Queen_, fully blocking the attack from _Keeper of the Red Dragon_.

"Aw man… I'll set 2 cards. Tan endo." Issei finished.

"Watashi no tan! Draw!" Junko called. "I activate the Monster effect of _Harpie Channeler_! I discard 1 _Harpie Lady 2 _in my hand to Special Summon _Harpie Lady 1 _from my Deck!" In moments, one of the three iconic _Harpie _Monsters appeared on the field, while also receiving power from Junko's Field Magic.

**Harpie Lady 1  
LV 4  
Kaze  
Winged Beast/Effect  
ATK [ 1300-1500 ] / DEF 1400**

"Next I activate the Magic Card; _Hysteric Wish_!" Junko continued, playing a card that depicted the three _Harpie Lady _sisters reaching into a _Pot of Greed_. "When I activate this card, I can destroy any number of my Harpie Ladies or Harpie Lady Three Sisters on my field and draw a card for each one! I destroy _Harpie Channeler_, _Harpie Lady 1_, and _Harpie Lady Three Sisters _to draw three cards!" Junko's three Monsters vanished as she drew three cards from her Deck and grinned at what she found. "I activate an Equipment Magic; _Pike of the Guardian God_!"

"Oh no!" Issei gasped, knowing what the card did and assuming he knew how his opponent intended to use it.

"While this card is equipped to a Monster, that Monster gains 900 ATK for each card in the Cemetery that shares its name." Junko explained as Harpie Queen acquired a new golden lance-like weapon.

"And a lot of her Monsters treat themselves as _Harpie Lady _while in the Cemetery…" Asuka mused from her position on the sidelines.

"That's gonna total up to 2700 ATK!" Issei said mostly to himself as the golden lance glowed with immense power before transferring it to the green-haired Monster.

_[Harpie Queen - ATK: 2100-4800]_

"_Harpie Queen _attacks _Keeper of the Red Dragon_!" Junko ordered as her Monster flew forward and prepared to thrust the lance straight through Issei's Keeper of the Red Dragon.

"Trap Card open! _Half Unbreak_!" Issei called out as his Set card rose and unleashed a barrage of bubbles that covered the majority of Issei's field, one of which had surrounded the brown-haired Monster, protecting him just as _Harpie Queen_ thrusted her weapon in his direction.. "This card negates the destruction of one of my Monsters by battle this turn, and it also halves the damage I take!" A wave of force still pushed Issei back to signify he had taken damage, however.

**Junko LP: 3200  
Issei LP: 4850-3750**

"Geez… This is starting to get annoying." Junko muttered. "I'll Set two cards. Tan endo."

_**[BGM: "Trip -Innocent of D-", by Larval Stage Planning]**_

"Ore no tan… Draw!" Issei called out as he began his turn. "I activate Scale Mail!" As his Set card rose, Keeper of the Red Dragon's arm began to glow before a red gauntlet-like object formed, covering the entirety of his forearm. The green core at its center began emitting a brilliant light. "This let's me take Keeper of the Red Dragon and send him to the Cemetery!"

"Eh? Why would he get rid of his own Monster?" Chiyu wondered to herself.

"And by doing that, I can Special Summon Red Dragon Emperor from my hand or Deck!" Issei continued as a card stuck out from his Deck, which the perverted Duelist took and slapped onto his Duel Disk in place of his previous Monster. "Welsh Dragon Over Booster!" In a flash of light, Keeper of the Red Dragon had vanished. In his place stood a figure clad from head to toe in metallic red armor with green gems dotted about his body. The armor itself seemed to take on a draconic appearance.

**Red Dragon Emperor  
LV 6  
Yami  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK [ 2000 ] / DEF 1500**

"Red Dragon Emperor's name is treated as Keeper of the Red Dragon, so Rias' Monster effect prevents her from being attacked!" Issei explained as the red-armored figure stood in front of Rias. "Also, Rias gives him an extra 500 ATK, and he gains another 500 from his own effect since I control one other Evil Monster!" The red-armored warrior's gems lit up with emerald light, signifying his power boost.

_[Red Dragon Emperor - ATK: 2000-2500-3000]_

"It still isn't enough to take down Harpie Queen!" Junko pointed out. Issei smirked, to the perplexment of the _Harpie _Duelist.

"The effect of _Scale Mail_ activates!" Issei retorted, much to Junko's surprise. "Since _Red Dragon Emperor_ was Special Summoned with _Scale Mail_, he can't be destroyed by card effects this turn, and he gains an extra effect!"

"It gains a new effect?!" Many of the girls were wondering.

"Now, when _Red Dragon Emperor_ is Special Summoned, I can destroy all Magic and Trap Cards on the field!"

"No way!" Junko gasped as the scenery around them shattered apart to reveal the Obelisk girls' dorm once more. This also caused the _Pike of the Guardian God_ to shatter into nothingness as well and reverting the ATK of _Harpie Queen_ to its normal value.

_[Harpie Queen - ATK: 4800-1900]_

"Next, I equip my _Dragon Emperor_ with _Sacred Gear - Boosted Gear_!" Issei continued as the gem on _Red Dragon Emperor's_ left arm glowed faintly. "And because it's equipped to _Red Dragon Emperor_, it gains an additional effect!"

"Another one?" Asuka wondered.

"Now once a turn I can pay up to 600 Life Points, and for every 100 I pay, the equipped Monster will gain 200 ATK. I'll pay the full 600!" Issei said as he pumped his fist into the air, to which the _Red Dragon Emperor_ mirrored his movements. "Boost!" Power then seemed to flow through the red-armored Monster as Issei made his declaration.

**Junko LP: 3200  
Issei LP: 3700-3150**

_[Red Dragon Emperor - ATK: 3000-4200]_

"But I'm not done!" The perverted Duelist continued. "I activate the Magic Card; _Aspirations of the Harem King_! Since I control two or more _Evil_ Monsters, I can double the ATK of a _Keeper of the Red Dragon _on my field, but in return, he's the only Monster that can attack this turn."

"And _Red Dragon Emperor _is treated as _Keeper of the Red Dragon _while on the field…" Chiyu realized. "So…"

"It becomes a valid target!" Issei finished as his Monster glowed with even more power.

_[Red Dragon Emperor - ATK: 4200-8400]_

"8400 ATK?!" Junko got out.

"_Red Dragon Emperor_ attacks _Harpie Queen_!" Issei announced as his Monster flew forward and leaped into the air, using the thrusters on his back to keep himself airborne, before holding his arm out and steadying it. "**Explosion**!" Seconds later, a shot of green energy was discharged from the Monster's palm and sent barreling towards its target, hitting it dead-on and triggering a massive explosion that engulfed Junko's field.

**Junko LP: 3200-0  
Issei LP: 3150**

Issei sighed as it registered within his head that he had won, feeling relieved that he wouldn't be expelled.

"Okay then, looks like I'll be leaving, just like we agreed." he said as he gathered his cards back up and handed Momoe the Duel Disk.

"Go right ahead. I'll keep to my end of the agreement." Chiyu spoke up. "Not a word of this will leave the dorm." Junko, while she looked as though she wanted to say something, decided otherwise and simply watched as Issei walked past the gate to the dorm and then began running towards the docks.

However, as he got down to the docks, he was shocked to find that there were no boats he could take.

"Huh?! Are you serious?" He exclaimed as he looked around, hoping to find Matsuda and Motohama somewhere in the area. "And they seriously left me?!" He then looked out at the lake andcalled out at the top of his lungs.

"YOU GUYS SUUUUUUUUCK!"

* * *

_**Hysteric Wish  
**__**Normal Magic Card  
**_Target any number of "Harpie Lady" or "Harpie Lady Three Sisters" you control; destroy those targets, and if you do, draw 1 card for each destroyed Monster.

_**Evil King Rias  
LV 7  
Yami  
Demon/Effect  
ATK 2500 / DEF 2000  
**_Effect - If you control 2 or more "Evil" Monsters, you can Release 1 Monster you control; Special Summon this card (from your hand). This card cannot attack during the turn it is Special Summoned. While you control this face-up card: All "Evil" Monsters you control gain 500 ATK, except "Evil King" Monsters. If you control a face-up "Keeper of the Red Dragon": This card cannot be selected as an attack target.

_**Evil Queen Akeno  
LV 5  
Yami  
Demon/Effect  
ATK 2000 / DEF 1300  
**_Effect - This card is also treated as a Angel-Type Monster. If your opponent controls a Monster and you control no Monsters, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand). When this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can Normal Summon 1 "Evil" Monster, in addition to your Normal Summon/Set. (You can only gain this effect once per turn.)

_**Evil Knight Kiba  
LV 4  
Yami  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK 1900 / DEF 0  
**_Effect - Each time this card destroys an opponent's Monster by battle and sends it to the Cemetery: Draw 1 card. You can only use 1 "Evil Knight Kiba" effect per turn, and only once that turn.  
● If your opponent controls a Monster, this card can attack your opponent directly. When it does so using this effect, any Battle Damage it inflicts to your opponent is halved.  
● This card can attack twice during the Battle Phase this turn.

_**Evil Rook Koneko  
LV 4  
Yami  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK 2100 / DEF 1000  
**_Effect - Cannot attack the turn it is Special Summoned. This card is also treated as a Beast-Warrior-Type Monster. This card cannot be destroyed by battle up to twice per turn. Your opponent cannot inflict piercing Battle Damage to you.

_**Evil Rook Rossweisse  
LV 4  
Hikari  
Magician/Effect  
ATK 2000 / DEF 1000  
**_Effect - Cannot attack the turn it is Special Summoned. Once per turn: You can place 1 Spell Counter on this card. Increase this card's ATK and DEF by 300 for each Spell Counter on it. Once per turn: If this card would be destroyed, you can remove 1 Spell Counter from it instead.

_**Evil Bishop Asia  
LV 4  
Hikari  
Magician/Effect  
ATK 300 / DEF 2200  
**_Effect - If you control a face-up "Keeper of the Red Dragon": This card cannot be selected as an attack target. During each of your End Phases: Gain 400 Life Points for each Monster you control.

_**Keeper of the Red Dragon  
LV 4  
Yami  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK 1500 / DEF 1000  
**_Effect - (This card is always treated as an "Evil Pawn" card.)  
If you control a face-up "Evil King Rias": Increase this card's ATK by 600. Once per turn, during either player's turn: You can treat this card's name as "Evil Rook", "Evil Bishop", "Evil Knight" or "Evil Queen". This card gains the following effects depending on its name.  
● "Evil Rook": This card cannot be destroyed by battle.  
● "Evil Bishop": During each of your Standby Phases: Gain 400 Life Points for each card in your hand.  
● "Evil Knight": This card can attack your opponent directly. If it does, damage inflicted this way is halved.  
● "Evil Queen": Once per turn: You can negate the activation of an opponent's Magic/Trap Card, and if you do, destroy it.

_**Red Dragon Emperor  
LV 6  
Yami  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK 2000 / DEF 1500  
**_Effect - Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned with "Scale Mail" OR Special Summoned by the following method.  
● You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by Releasing 1 "Keeper of the Red Dragon" you control.  
This card's name is also treated as "Keeper of the Red Dragon". If you control at least 1 other face-up "Evil" Monster with a different name: This card gains 500 ATK. If you control at least 2 other face-up "Evil" Monsters with different names: You can activate this effect; when this card attacks or is attacked, your opponent cannot activate cards or effects until the end of the Damage Step. When this card on the field is destroyed, you can Special Summon 1 "Keeper of the Red Dragon" from your Cemetery.

_**Summoning Circle  
Normal Magic Card  
**_If you have Normal Summoned an "Evil" Monster previously this turn, you can Special Summon up to 2 Warrior, Magician, or Demon-Type Monsters from your hand. For the rest of this turn, you cannot Special Summon Monsters.

_**Aspirations of the Harem King  
Normal Magic Card  
**_If you control 2 or more "Evil" Monsters: Target 1 "Keeper of the Red Dragon" you control; double its current ATK until the End Phase. You cannot declare an attack this turn, except with "Keeper of the Red Dragon".

_**Sacred Gear - Boosted Gear  
Equipment Magic  
**_This card can only be equipped to a "Red Dragon" Monster. During each of your Standby Phases: Increase the ATK of the equipped Monster by 300. You can send this card to the Cemetery; add 1 "Sacred Gear - Boosted Gear Gift" from your Deck to your hand. If this card is equipped to "Red Dragon Emperor", it gains this effect:  
● Once per turn: You can pay Life Points in multiples of 100 (Max. 600); increase this card's ATK by 200 for every 100 Life Points paid this way.

_**Scale Mail  
Normal Trap Card  
**_Release 1 "Keeper" Monster you control; Special Summon 1 "Dragon Emperor" Monster, whose name includes the Released Monster's name, from your hand or Deck. Then, if you Special Summoned a Monster this way, that Monster cannot be destroyed by card effects this turn. Also, you can have it gain this effect.  
● When it is Special Summoned, you can destroy all Magic/Trap Cards on the field.  
You can only activate 1 "Scale Mail" per turn.

(the above cards were created by me.)


	8. REMASTER!

Hello?

_***Tap* *Tap***_

Can everyone hear me? Is this thing on? Testing! One two three!

So roughly a year and a half ago, I started this story because I wanted to try my hand at the GX series and see where I could take it (and also how far I could take making an archetype of cards… shame you all never got to see the extent of that). I started out and it went well… initially. I was doing well. I never got very far ultimately, but I was still going at a good pace considering how hard it was to find subs for the anime at the time so I could write this. But then I got ideas for bigger and better things. I started to enjoy ARC-V so much that I wanted to do that, and then to do that I had to also start up 5D's eventually. I just found myself gravitating towards things I was able to churn out much more easily and this story just… got neglected.

But you know what?

I'm fixing that. Pretty soon I'll have put up the reboot to this story. That's right, I'm coming back with a vengeance on this project. I have all new, fresh ideas I want to try out and this time around I won't let my baby fade away into obscurity. I'm starting over; from the beginning. I'm going above and beyond what I was going to do originally. For those of you that had submitted characters to me during this story's glory days at my request, fear not. You'll still be able to see them in the remake. Count on it.

I'm back, nerds. Tremble at my glorious return.

_***Drops the mic and walks off the stage***_


End file.
